Information for Consumers

The Connecticut Health Policy Project is dedicated to the principle that the best engines for change in Connecticut's complex health care system are informed, engaged, empowered consumers. This page is intended to provide Connecticut consumers with an objective, user-friendly source of information to help both in accessing personal health care effectively, but also to participate and advocate in Connecticut's constantly changing health care environment.

February 2006 - Health Savings Accounts: Avoiding the Consumer Traps

February 2006 - Health Savings Accounts: Avoiding the Consumer Traps

November 2004 - Fact Sheet - The Effects of Uninsurance 

November 2004 - The Effects of Uninsurance (Espanol)

March 2003 How to prepare if you may be losing HUSKY

Your Attention Please - Decisions are being made that affect your health

If you have been denied coverage in CT, consider CT's Health Reinsurance Association Call 1-800-842-0004 for more information

Visit our Health Advocacy Toolbox - User-friendly tools to make lasting changes in the policies that affect our lives and our health - every consumer can make a difference, and we need you all.

Consumer Reports, September 2002 - The Perils of Buying Your Own Policy

Consumer Reports, November 2001 - A Consumer Guide to Handling Disputes with Your Private or Employer Health Plan

• If you or someone you know in Connecticut does not have health insurance, visit the HUSKY site (http://www.huskyhealth.com/) or call toll-free 1-877-CTHUSKY
• If you or someone you know is having trouble paying a Connecticut hospital bill, see A Guide to Paying Your Hospital Bills - English or A Guide to Paying Your Hospital Bills - Spanish from the Office of Health Care Access or call toll-free 1-800-797-9688.
• If you or someone you know is having a problem with a Connecticut managed care plan, visit the Office of Managed Care Ombudsman's site (http://www.omc.state.ct.us) or call toll-free 1-866-HMO-4446.

Some Connecticut Health Policy Project publications for consumers

• September 2002 - Connecticut Likely Voters and the Uninsured: A Focus Group Study - Gauging voters' attitudes about the uninsured during campaign season
• Premium Assistance Programs: What are they and could they help Connecticut families without health insurance? October 2001
• In the News: "Susan had a Right to be Enraged", Hartford Courant, July 2001
• Primary Care Case Management: A Primer for Consumers
• HUSKY Focus Groups: What are parents saying? An Analysis of barriers to enrollment of uninsured children in the HUSKY program October 1999
• 2008 Federal Poverty Levels Effective April 1, 2008
• Our Favorite Fast Fact December 1999

Search the CT Health Notes Archives

Some helpful links for consumers

Caring Families Coalition - a truly consumer-driven health coalition in Connecticut with over a thousand members

Tips to Save money on medical bills if you don't have insurance – you can save money on your health care bills, just like all your other spending. You just need to know how.

The Connecticut Department of Insurance's website has a report card, A Comparison of Managed Care Organizations in Connecticut, comparing Connecticut HMOs, a comparison of complaints lodged against Connecticut's HMOs, and information on filing an appeal to an HMO decision limiting care.

Your Medicine: Play it Safe - an excellent guide to taking any medications and a system to help keep track of them -- from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 

• English version
• Spanish version

Consumer Tips: What you should do before you buy from the Health Insurance Resource Center

HealthCareCoach.com - packed with facts and do-it-yourself tips on everything from health insurance to patient care - to help you help yourself.

Health Insurance Tips for Small Businesses from the US Department of Labor

What to Do If Your Health Coverage Can No Longer Pay Benefits: US Dept. of Labor Fact Sheet for Consumers

A Consumer’s Guide to Getting and Keeping Health Insurance in Connecticut

Your legal rights tool from insure.com on healthcare and other topics

From Business Week On-line, A Plague of Health Insurance Scams

To help seniors identify programs that you may be eligible for

FTC Consumer Protection Page - Diet, Health & Fitness Warnings and how to file a complaint on-line http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-health.htm

A great resource on how to avoid claim denials by your insurer, and what to do if you are denied, including sample letters to fit different circumstances http://www.insure.com/health/claimdenial.html

Check out your physician's profile, from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, http://www.physicians.dph.state.ct.us/web_public/web_public_search.show

For information about Medicare, especially in Connecticut, visit the Center for Medicare Advocacy, http://www.medicareadvocacy.org  or call them toll-free in Connecticut at 1-800-262-4414

For Connecticut-specific health information, visit HealthNet - the Connecticut consumer health information network, from the UConn Health Center Library ( http://library.uchc.edu/departm/hnet/  )

If you are picking a health plan, as either a consumer or an employer, the guides on this site are among the best. (http://www.eqp.org)

If you want more information on a specific health care topic or disease, begin at these federal sites, http://www.healthfinder.gov/  , and http://www.medlineplus.gov  run by the National Institutes of Health

For information on navigating the complex health care environment, visit the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer

Another great resource is the National Health Law Project's Consumer Resources page http://www.healthlaw.org/consumer.shtml

The Centers for Disease Control has a list of common health-related rumors and hoaxes http://www.cdc.gov/hoax_rumors.htm

As always, if these resources do not answer your questions, feel free to contact us at info@cthealthpolicy.org  or call (203) 562-1636.

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