In The News
March 18, 2014
In The News
When Howard Lunt arrived home from the Korean War in 1953, there wasn’t much fanfare. There were no parades or triumphant bands waiting to cheer him on. Nor did he receive any medals for his service for fighting along the 38th parallel — his military record likely lost amid the winding down of the war that claimed the lives of more than 30,000 Americans. That changed Monday when Lunt, 82, was presented with five medals honoring him for his service during the conflict that many, including Lunt, describe as the “forgotten war.”
February 24, 2014
In The News
Ukrainian- born Volodymyr Serhiyenko has been living in the United States for the past five years and has been enjoying his personal freedoms with a democratic government. But he’s been haunted by all the recent turmoil and unrest, with peaceful protestors shot dead by snipers at the Maidan (Independence Square), fires outside parliament, stun grenades and gunfire — the worst bloodshed the country as seen in 22 years of independence. Serhiyenko was one of many locals attending a meeting at the Ukrainian National Home in North Windham Sunday with other members of the University of Connecticut’s Ukrainian Student Association, Ukrainian Americans from around Connecticut and state dignitaries.
February 12, 2014
In The News
Connecticut was among 16 states that saw record levels of exports last year, with the sale of aerospace and related equipment accounting for nearly half of the $16.5 billion in exports, a report released Tuesday shows. Exporting for the nation as a whole in 2013 also rose to a record, $2.3 trillion. In Connecticut, the level of exports rose by 3 percent, from $16 billion in 2012, and was 7 percent higher than $15.4 billion in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. "I'm not surprised," said Peter Gioia, vice president and economist at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association. "Companies involved in exporting are getting more and more aggressive."
February 12, 2014
In The News
Problems caused by a Medicare rule that forces hospitals to label certain patients under "observation" status rather than as inpatients have only worsened in the four years since U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney first introduced legislation to fix it. That's the assessment of case managers at the region's two hospitals, who both applaud the third bill Courtney and other lawmakers have introduced since 2010 to change Medicare rules so that patients could be covered for skilled nursing care after a hospitalization, regardless of whether they were "observation" patients or inpatients. Under the current rules, Medicare patients discharged to skilled nursing care facilities must pay out of pocket for those services, unless they were labeled as hospital "inpatients" for three consecutive days. Increasingly strict limits on who can be classified as an inpatient - with penalties for hospitals that mislabel patients - have meant hospitals are categorizing more patients as "observation."
Issues:
February 11, 2014
In The News
As Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., sees it, more of his colleagues are becoming aware of the ill effects that can occur when hospitals tell Medicare that a person who spent days being treated within their walls was not an “inpatient.” Courtney and many advocacy groups say that when hospitals instead slot patients as receiving “observation” services, that can deprive them of needed follow-up skilled nursing care. Or, it can cost them dearly if they use these services as after a hospital stay.
Issues:
January 24, 2014
In The News
In the project science laboratory at the Charles H. Barrows STEM Academy Thursday, a group of goggles-clad second-grade students were about to begin an experiment. By combining two states of matter — vinegar, a liquid, and baking soda, a solid — could they create a third state of matter? Second-grade teacher Kim Lewis, having passed out written instructions and given the students a couple of minutes, asked if there were any questions. Juliana Vik, a particularly enthusiastic student, shook her head.
January 23, 2014
In The News
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, was in Windham Center Tuesday to quell concerns the Affordable Care Act would apply to volunteer fire departments. “The cost of providing health care would be catastrophic (for volunteer fire departments),” Courtney said. The Affordable Care Act mandates employers with more than 50 employees offer health care or pay a penalty.
January 7, 2014
In The News
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney and state Attorney General George Jepsen called on Congress Tuesday to extend a recently-expired tax break for underwater homeowners to help ensure the continued recovery of the housing market.Courtney and Jepsen urged Congressional action on the expired tax provision during a Tuesday morning press conference in Hartford.
January 4, 2014
In The News
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney says his office helped to return more than $1.5 million last year to eastern Connecticut constituents who were owed everything from Social Security checks to overdue veterans' benefits.
Issues:
December 2, 2013
In The News
U.S. Rep. Joseph D. Courtney, D- 2nd District, has joined a colleague from California in calling for a federal investigation of alleged misconduct by doctors and lawyers said to be working on behalf of the coal industry. The request to the U.S. Labor Department by Courtney and Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat, follows a yearlong probe of a benefits program for coal miners with pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, by ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit watchdog group in Washington, D.C. The investigation alleged that doctors and lawyers used medically and ethically questionable tactics to defeat the claims of minors with the disease, according to the congressmen.