State News Archives - Page 20 of 113

State News

BLUMENTHAL DELIVERS OPENING STATEMENT AT HEARING ON FAILURE OF ZELLE AND BIG BANKS TO ADDRESS SCAMS AND FRAUD

May 24, 2024 Alex

“Zelle and the big banks said they couldn’t help. What they really meant is they wouldn’t help.” [WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), delivered opening remarks at a hearing titled “Fraud Alert!: Shedding Light on Zelle.” The hearing—featuring testimony from two individuals who were victimized by scammers on the peer-to-peer payment (P2P) platform—examined the human toll of schemes on P2P money transfer services, the availability of and processes for consumer reimbursement of money lost to scams and fraud, and the extent of current regulatory and legal protections for consumers. “Zelle markets itself as, ‘a fast and easy way to send and receive money.’ But as this Subcommittee has found, ‘a…

State News

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS MULTISTATE COALITION URGING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE DEBT RELIEF TO FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS

May 24, 2024 Alex

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong this week joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general calling on the U.S. Department of Education to swiftly implement recently proposed regulations, which would provide needed relief for some of the nation’s most burdened student loan borrowers and help address the student debt crisis. The proposed regulations would waive or reduce student loan repayment for certain groups of federal student loan borrowers. “For far too many Connecticut families, student loan debt is a crushing, unaffordable burden. This is an economic crisis exacerbated by bad actors in both the for-profit college and loan servicing industries, as well as long-term mismanagement over the course of many, many years and multiple federal administrations. I join attorneys…

State News

GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF CONNECTICUT STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN UNDERSERVED AREAS AND FACILITIES

May 21, 2024 Alex

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is launching a new state program to address the healthcare workforce shortage in Connecticut’s health professional shortage areas. Known as the Connecticut Student Loan Repayment Program, the initiative will offer up to $50,000 in student loan repayments to eligible healthcare providers who commit to practicing full-time in underserved communities in the state for at least two years. Part-time options are also available for $12,500 per year over two years, totaling $25,000. The program is being overseen by the Connecticut Department of Public Health and administered by the Connecticut Area Health Education Center, a program that works throughout Connecticut to improve access to basic healthcare by linking local community groups…

State News

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG FILES SUIT AGAINST ALTICE OVER UNLAWFUL “NETWORK ENHANCEMENT FEE”

May 14, 2024 Alex

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today announced a lawsuit against Altice/Optimum Online, seeking to halt and recoup millions of dollars in unlawfully charged “Network Enhancement Fees.” The complaint further seeks to hold the company accountable for buried disclosures regarding limits to advertised speeds. The complaint alleges three categories of violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, including the improper fee, inadequate speed disclosures, and English-language disclosures on Spanish marketing materials. The complaint seeks both restitution for consumers as well as penalties to the state. Since at least January 2019, Altice has charged Connecticut consumers a monthly “Network Enhancement Fee,” which has increased over time with limited disclosure from $2.50 per month to $6.00 per month. In total,…

State News

GOVERNOR LAMONT ORDERS SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO COMPLETE THE TERMS OF SIX RETIRING PROBATE JUDGES

May 14, 2024 Alex

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is ordering special elections to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 – the same date as the next general election – to complete the terms of six probate judges who will each be retiring over the course of the next year. Five of the six judges are reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges. The governor specifically chose to hold these special elections on the same date as the next general election because doing so will enable the municipalities in each of these probate districts to avoid any added costs of holding separate elections for this purpose. Probate judges in Connecticut serve four-year terms. The terms…

State News

GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES FUSS & O’NEILL EXPANDING ITS PRESENCE IN CONNECTICUT

May 14, 2024 Alex

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced today that Fuss & O’Neill, Inc., a renowned civil and environmental engineering firm founded in Connecticut 100 years ago, is expanding its operations in the state. The firm is establishing a new office in Hartford and plans on creating 74 new jobs in the state over the next several years. Founded in 1924, Fuss & O’Neill has 11 locations in seven states in the northeast, including two offices in Connecticut. The company employes approximately 400 professionals, including 200 in the state. It will be relocating its headquarters from Manchester to a 23,000 square-foot space in Hartford’s Gold Building this autumn. “Connecticut has the best trained and most skilled workforce in the country, which…

State News

GOVERNOR LAMONT SIGNS LAW PROHIBITING MEDICAL DEBT FROM BEING REPORTED TO CREDIT RATING AGENCIES

May 11, 2024 Alex

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed legislation that enacts a law prohibiting health care providers and hospitals in Connecticut from reporting a person’s medical debt to credit rating agencies for use in credit reports. It also voids any medical debt that is reported to credit rating agencies. “When medical debt is included in a person’s credit report, creditors are making decisions based on a person’s medical history that is not necessarily representative of their financial responsibility and household finances,” Governor Lamont said. “By prohibiting medical debt from being reported to creditors, we are protecting patients who may have otherwise been apprehensive about seeking essential medical care.” The bill was championed in the legislature by…

State News

BLUMENTHAL & LARSON INTRODUCE THE ESSENTIAL CAREGIVERS ACT

May 9, 2024 Alex

[Hartford, CT] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative John Larson (D-CT-01), joined by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24), introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Essential Caregivers Act. This bill would protect the residents in long-term care facilities, giving all residents nationwide the right to have in person access to an essential caregiver when visitations are restricted due to a declared emergency. The bipartisan bill seeks to prevent a repeat of the isolation and lack of care that long-term care residents were unjustly subjected to during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also requires CMS to set clear and fair guidelines for essential caregivers to protect the safety of facility staff and residents. “The COVID-19…

State News

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG URGES UNITEDHEALTH GROUP TO HELP PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS HARMED BY CYBERATTACK ON CHANGE HEALTHCARE

Apr 27, 2024 Alex

(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General William Tong announced today that he has joined a bipartisan, multistate coalition of 22 attorneys general in sending a letter to UnitedHealth Group, Inc. urging the corporation to take more meaningful action to better protect providers, pharmacies, and patients harmed by the recent catastrophic outage of Change Healthcare. UnitedHealth Group is the nation’s largest health insurer and the parent company of Change Healthcare. On February 21, 2024, Change Healthcare experienced a cyberattack by ALPHV/Blackcat, which crippled its platform. In the intervening weeks, providers, pharmacies, and facilities have reported catastrophic disruptions to care infrastructure, inability to verify coverage or obtain prior authorization, and inability to process claims or obtain reimbursements. Patients report delayed or denied access to…

State News

BLUMENTHAL & SULLIVAN CALL ON PRESIDENT TO ENFORCE STRONGER SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

Apr 26, 2024 Alex

[Hartford, CT] —U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today called on President Biden to enforce stronger sanctions against Iran. Citing Iran’s attacks on Israel on April 13, as well as the repeated attacks by Iran’s proxies on Israel and U.S. Navy ships, the senators detailed several ways the United States could enforce stronger sanctions against Iran and cripple their ability to fund aggression and terrorism. “Since Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, our servicemen and women, our naval vessels, our other allies in the region, and international shipping have come under attack from Iranian funded, trained, coordinated, and assisted groups. And now, the Iranian attack against Israel demonstrably shows that…

BLUMENTHAL DELIVERS OPENING STATEMENT AT HEARING ON FAILURE OF ZELLE AND BIG BANKS TO ADDRESS SCAMS AND FRAUD

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG JOINS MULTISTATE COALITION URGING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE DEBT RELIEF TO FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN BORROWERS

GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF CONNECTICUT STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS IN UNDERSERVED AREAS AND FACILITIES

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG FILES SUIT AGAINST ALTICE OVER UNLAWFUL “NETWORK ENHANCEMENT FEE”

GOVERNOR LAMONT ORDERS SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO COMPLETE THE TERMS OF SIX RETIRING PROBATE JUDGES

GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES FUSS & O’NEILL EXPANDING ITS PRESENCE IN CONNECTICUT

GOVERNOR LAMONT SIGNS LAW PROHIBITING MEDICAL DEBT FROM BEING REPORTED TO CREDIT RATING AGENCIES

BLUMENTHAL & LARSON INTRODUCE THE ESSENTIAL CAREGIVERS ACT

ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG URGES UNITEDHEALTH GROUP TO HELP PATIENTS AND PROVIDERS HARMED BY CYBERATTACK ON CHANGE HEALTHCARE

BLUMENTHAL & SULLIVAN CALL ON PRESIDENT TO ENFORCE STRONGER SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN

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