Fairfield County Business Journal

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY

BUSINESS JOURNAL YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS | westfaironline.com

FCBJ this week BY EMPHASIZING key business drivers in decision-making, CEOs will begin to see greater efficiencies across the board, accountant Mark Fagan writes … 2 GOV. DANNEL P. MALLOY is seeking to invest $1 billion in clean water, which advocates say could help create thousands of jobs … 5 STATE SEN. SCOTT FRANTZ has proposed a bill to give disabled veteran-owned businesses a share of state contracts … 7

RENOVATIONS CENTERED around environmental sustainability are gaining traction, experts say … 16

February 25, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 8

HEALTH OFFICIAL SOUNDS ALARM OVER COSTS BY PATRICK GALLAGHER pgallagher@westfairinc.com

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proposal to shift thousands of residents covered by Connecticut’s HUSKY Medicaid program to private health plans marketed through a statewide exchange could have a damaging effect on many low earners, state Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri warned. The Office of the Healthcare Advocate — the state’s federally designated Consumer Assistance Program under the Affordable Care Act — will partner with the Connecticut

Health Insurance Exchange to educate and enroll individuals in private health plans that will be sold on the exchange, officials announced earlier this month. Veltri warned that changes proposed within Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget could make it difficult for many of the state’s low-income residents to afford coverage under the plans that will be marketed through the insurance exchange beginning in October. “For consumers, especially for those with very low incomes, next year is going to be a very tough year for them,” Veltri said.

“We need to do whatever we can to make health care accessible to them. And that’s an uphill climb right now.” Residents with minor children who earn up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level are currently eligible for free health coverage through Connecticut’s HUSKY Medicaid program. While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to provide Medicaid coverage to all legal residents earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, Malloy’s budget proposal would end coverage for » Health, page 6

STOP AT 65? NO WAY

REGULATIONS UNDER THE GUN PAGE 3

Elderly workforce expected to grow in Connecticut BY JENNIFER BISSELL jbissell@westfairinc.com

MEDIA PARTNER

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AVOIDING THE ‘FATAL’ ERROR

FOR MANY WORKING adults, the idea of retiring at 65 is no longer a reality. More than a quarter of men and 16 percent of women living in Connecticut who are over 65 are working, which gives Connecticut the fifth-oldest workforce in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Over the past two decades, the number of U.S. workers over 65 has increased by about 4 percent, but the Census projects that the over-65 workforce will increase by more than 67 percent from 2015 to 2040. “People want to continue to work,” said Jennifer Gorman, a field representative for the Connecticut Department of Aging. “Most of it is financial need, but some people want to remain active and don’t want to retire.” Beginning with the Older Americans Act, passed by Congress in 1965, a number of resources aimed at helping seniors find employment have been established. With the number of U.S. residents over the age of 65 expected to double by 2030, » Elderly, page 6


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