COVID Update 3.23
March 23, 2021Happy National Puppy Day! (Isn’t every day National Puppy Day? Says my eternal puppy, Nelly, who does not understand why we aren’t outside playing frisbee all day long.)
For committee chairs who have deadlines expiring this week (including me), it’s a very busy time. As in all walks of life, there’s nothing like a deadline to focus people on the details. Sometimes, in the heat of negotiations, a technical challenge can really throw you for a loop. Under the COVID-influenced rules governing this session, there are very specific times by which agendas need to be published, and we had an agenda get filed a few minutes late yesterday because we were busy discussing legislative details. Out of an abundance of caution, we re-scheduled the meeting to the following day (it’s always good to have a backup plan) and all was righted!
It was a pleasure to be with the Norfolk Foundation last night to talk about the environment, climate change, and energy policy. If you missed it, you can listen to the presentation here. I’ll make it available in another format if possible.
Here’s a list of today’s topics:
- New Savings with Access Health CT. Click here.
- National Agriculture Week. Click here.
- American Rescue Plan Recap. Click here.
- Facebook Live Reminder. Click here.
For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
For several additional graphs and tables containing more data, including a list of cases in every municipality, visit ct.gov/coronavirus and click the link that is labeled, “Data Tracker.”
|
| Town | Total Cases | Total Deaths | Number of Tests | Number of Positive Tests |
| Canaan | 10 | 0 | 718 | 12 |
| Cornwall | 46 | 0 | 1,964 | 54 |
| Goshen | 131 | 1 | 4,428 | 157 |
| Kent | 143 | 0 | 8,940 | 172 |
| Norfolk | 62 | 0 | 2,051 | 71 |
| North Canaan | 187 | 8 | 8,811 | 208 |
| Salisbury | 129 | 0 | 9,855 | 154 |
| Sharon | 100 | 1 | 4,811 | 138 |
| Torrington | 2,950 | 132 | 80,212 | 3,602 |
New Savings with Access Health CT
Access Health CT (AHCT) continues to offer quality, affordable health care for those in need of coverage, especially during this public health crisis.
So far, thousands of Connecticut residents have taken advantage of a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) running now through April 15.
But wait! There is even better news.
If you buy insurance on the exchange, your monthly premiums could be as little as $5 per month or less.
On the conservative side, CT residents stand to save $85 million annually by buying their insurance on the exchange.
New federal relief dollars have created huge tax credits for those who buy insurance through AHCT and if you're a small business owner with 50 employees or less you can save money by using Access Health CT for health insurance coverage with significant subsidies from the federal government.
If you need quality, affordable, low cost health insurance, hesitate no more. Click on the button below to enroll.
Special Enrollment Period coverage effective dates and guidelines are as follows:
| Consumers enrolling from | March 16-31 |
April 1-15 |
| Plan effective date |
May 1, 2021 |
June 1, 2021 |
| Customer must pay their first month’s premium (monthly payment) for coverage to begin. | Customer must pay their first month’s premium (monthly payment) for coverage to begin. |
- Consumers will not be required to verify their eligibility for this Special Enrollment Period
- Consumers currently enrolled in coverage through AHCT will not be eligible to use this Special Enrollment Period to change plans
- Financial help will continue to be available to consumers who qualify.
- Individuals who experience a Qualifying Life Event (e.g., loss of coverage due to job change or unemployment) or qualify for Medicaid/Children’s Health Program (CHIP), can continue to enroll year-round.
Access Health CT reminds residents of the importance of maintaining their coverage throughout the year, and not just during this public health crisis. It is critical that uninsured individuals take advantage of this opportunity to protect their health, wellbeing and ensure they have access to needed services.
Access Health CT will continue to offer free help:
- Online: AccessHealthCT.com (and click the “Live Chat” icon)
- Phone: 1-855-805-4325, Mon. – Fri. 8 AM – 4 PM
- With Enrollment Specialists in the community
- In-person at either of AHCT’s Navigator partner locations**:
- Project Access New Haven located at 63 York Street in New Haven
- Community Renewal Team located at 330 Market Street in Hartford
National Agriculture Week and the CT Grown Program
This week is National Agriculture Week! As some spring green starts to pop out, we can all celebrate by shopping at a local farm, or farmer’s market.
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (DoAg) marked the occasion by unveiling a new logo for the CT Grown Program, which is part of DoAg’s initiative to promote all Connecticut-based products, from fruits and vegetables to seafood and wine, maple syrup and honey, dairy and fiber.
In addition to the new CT Grown branding, DoAg is announcing the roll out of a year-long marketing campaign to promote CT Grown and Connecticut’s agriculture/aquaculture industry.
Some details on the American Rescue Plan’s impact on CT
The American Rescue Plan Act includes $1.9 trillion in relief to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are a few resources (thank you Senator Murphy!) which provide a helpful breakdown of what is in the bill:
- Section by Section Summary: ARP Section by Section Summary
- Executive Summary: ARP Executive Summary
Notably, Connecticut will receive the following funding:
- State and Local Aid: $4.351 billion in aids to towns and cities. To find out how much your town will get click here.
- Schools: $1,140,646,000492,426,000 through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, and $371,413225,121,000 through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. This comes on top of the $745 million Connecticut received for these two programs through the end of year spending bill.
- Child Care: $277,000,000 to support child care providers through Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). In addition, Connecticut received nearly $67 million to support child care providers through the end of year spending package.
- Rental Assistance: $187,000,000 in rental assistance. This is in addition to the $237 million provided through the spending package that passed in December.
- LIHEAP: $166,000,000 for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
- Direct Payments: Finally, Connecticut workers and families will also receive assistance. An estimated 1,561,605 people will get economic impact payments totaling approximately $3.9 billion. This comes on top of the $1.6 billion in economic impact payments that were provided to Connecticut in December.
Facebook Live Event Reminder
This Friday, March 26, I will host a Facebook Live event about COVID-19 testing and Connecticut's vaccine rollout. I will be joined by Dr. Henri Lamothe, a Emergency Room Physician at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and Brian Mattiello, the Regional VP for Strategy and Community Development at Hartford Healthcare.
This event will be streamed live on my Facebook page at 6 pm. I hope to see you there.
Providing information to Connecticut residents
For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus. Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can call 2-1-1 for assistance. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 by dialing 1-800-203-1234. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.