08/18/08 "We expect that more hospitals will be joining Charter Oak in the coming weeks," said Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

Yale-New Haven Bolsters Charter Oak Hospital Roster

Business New Haven

Following a slow start for the controversial program to offer coverage to the state's uninsured, the state's Charter Oak Health Plan has signed on five new hospitals and logged more than 7,000 applications.

Yale-New Haven Hospital announced on August 9 that it would take part in the program along with Greenwich and Bridgeport hospitals, Hartford's Saint FrancisCare and Farmington's UConn Health Center/John Dempsey Hospital.

"It is gratifying to see these outstanding hospitals become our partners in bringing health care coverage to the thousands who need it," said Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The five signed on a week after it was disclosed that the only a single hospital in the state had agreed to take part as of the program's official enrollment kickoff date, New Haven's Hospital of Saint Raphael. Other hospitals had held off amid worries about billing procedures and low reimbursement rates, raising concerns that Charter Oak would not be able to provide doctors and services to enrollees.

Managed-care firms Aetna Better Health, Community Health Network of Connecticut, and United Healthcare's AmeriChoice are coordinating the program, designed for residents who earn too much to qualify for state or federal subsidized health care but can't afford their own coverage. Workers for small businesses that don't offer health insurance are urged to apply.....

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