Connecticut
HUSKY A Medicaid changes coming this fall
As of March 2024, over 140,000 people are enrolled in the states HUSKY A Medicaid program, which helps to provide healthcare coverage for low-income parents and caretakers of parents.
This number is expected to drop once the new income eligibility requirements go into effect in October.
The Connecticut Health Foundation estimates this will impact over 15,000 people across the state.
“It’s something that our Medicaid program needed to do to comply with the federal government standards,” said Assistant Professor and Associate Dean of Research Karl Minges from the University of New Haven’s School of Health Sciences.
As part of the state American Rescue Plan Act Budget for 2024, the income will drop from the currently requirement, which is 160% of the federal poverty level, to 138%. This means parents and caretakers will need to make even less money to qualify for the program.
“This means, that for a family of two, the income limited used to be around $32,000,” Connecticut Health Foundation President and CEO Tiffany Donelson said. “It has moved to $28,000 in order for you to be eligible.”
The Department of Social Services said many of the people who will no longer qualify for HUSKY A should qualify for a program called Covered Connecticut.
“The hope is that many of these parents and caregivers can transition to Covered Connecticut,” Donelson said. “It does provide coverage for individuals who are just above the eligibility limit for HUSKY.”
Covered Connecticut was introduced in 2021, but will only extend funding for an additional year due to ARPA funding.
“We’re going to need to have continued pressure on congressional entities at the state and federal level to continue this program,” Minges said. “Otherwise, it will expire within that one-year period.”
Connecticut
Connecticut golf course bought for $1.7M, now listed for $4.4M; redevelopment possible
Five years after snapping up a private Connecticut golf club for less than $2 million, its owners are now aiming for a far bigger return.
Quarry Ridge Golf Course — set among the rolling hills just outside Hartford — has hit the market, with a $4.4 million asking price, according to the commercial real estate site Crexi.com.
According to a story at the Middletown Press, some major renovations were made to the course, which opened as a 9-hole track in 1993. Another nine holes were added five years later.
The private golf course located at 9 Rose Hill Road last sold in early 2021 for $1.7 million to Tim and Patti Vale of Guilford and underwent extensive improvements to the conditions of the course and the renovation of the 7,000 square-foot clubhouse, which includes a golf shop, restaurant and bar, and a banquet facility.
According to the Portland Tax Assessor’s office, which lists the owner as Nexus Golf Properties, the land is currently appraised at $463,500 and the building is appraised at $3,148,800 for a total appraisal of 3,612,300. The property is assessed at $2,528,610.
According to the listing a total of $1.2 million was spent on enhancements, including the clubhouse renovations, air conditioning upgrades; patio construction to host events and banquets, golf course maintenance equipment, golf course enhancements, lighting, signage and improvements to owned home site on adjacent parcel to golf course.
While the listing says the course has reversed its fortunes in terms of cash flow since the new ownership group took over and reinvested in the property, zoning rules would allow for redevelopment, which could lead to single-family homes.
The course, which sits about 25 minutes south of Hartford, was designed by Joe Kelley and Al Zikorus.
Connecticut
Residents at Rocky Hill apartment complex evacuated over unsafe conditions; AG Tong explores legal action against management
It’s been 48 hours of chaos for hundreds of residents at the Concierge Apartments in Rocky Hill. The freezing cold temperatures over the last two weeks in Connecticut caused broken pipes and flooding in multiple buildings.
On Thursday, residents in two of five buildings had to be out by midnight due to frozen sprinkler systems. Now, according to a letter sent to residents in the remaining three buildings, all residents had to be out by midnight.
One resident, Ryan Callahan, and his family were part of the second wave of evacuations. They said the property has had issues going back for months, but recent conditions crossed the line.
Residents had been without heat and/or hot water for days. The initial damage, before the evacuations, prompted a scathing letter from Attorney General William Tong and local leaders to the apartment’s management company. Tong also criticized the company’s initial refusal to pay for other accommodations for residents seeking shelter before the mandatory evacuations were in place. The letter also criticized the company’s lack of communication and transparency with the residents.
In total, about 600 units were affected. Rocky Hill Mayor Allan Smith said renters were being put up in local hotels, but those were also causing some strain due to the demand.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the property owners, JRK Property Holdings, for a response, but hasn’t heard back yet.
However, the company did get back to Tong’s office.
In the letter, the company said that it has spent millions on improvements to the buildings since acquiring it in 2013, and that there “are currently no open violations or citations relative to plumbing.”
The company insists that all units currently have heat and running water and said that, despite reports of widespread heating loss, “only four of 500 units experienced heating loss.” They acknowledge that they were aware of 61 units with at least one fixture lacking hot water. The company said it expects repairs to be completed by the end of next week.
Despite Tong stating such in his initial letter, the management company said they did not see a basis for allowing tenants to break their leases.
Tong released a new letter responding to the management company on Friday, saying in part:
Your response is worse than tone deaf, it is callous. In this extreme cold – projected to be -2 and -3 degrees, respectively tomorrow and Sunday – your response could at best be characterized as indifferent,” the letter states. “Whether your client spent $22 million in the past or expect to spend $2 million now proves only one thing — Concierge Apartments has clearly not done enough to keep these residents safe and honor the legal and ethical obligations to them and their families. No doubt Concierge has put a price on their safety and whatever that price is decided to be is wholly inadequate.
It is unconscionable to demand that tenants, who are mostly working people now struggling to put a roof over their heads during the coldest stretch in recent memory, honor their contractual obligations to a Los Angeles-based real estate empire that boasts $15 billion in real estate assets under management in 23 states. This is particularly appalling when Concierge itself may be shirking their legal and contractual obligations. I am hard pressed to believe that a Connecticut court would see it any other way – and I anticipate that a Connecticut court would strongly consider these contracts to be voidable. This catastrophe has made Concierge, and its shadowy web of ownership interests, the posterchild for everything that is wrong with private equity owning a stake in basic goods and services.
In the meantime, residents can file a claim with the Rocky Hill Fair Rent Commission here.
The attorney general’s office said it is exploring “all legal options and expects to take additional action in the coming days.”
Connecticut
Snow and brutal cold ahead this weekend
Friday will see a good amount of cloud cover and calm winds as temperatures lift into the 30s.
A few flurries are possible this afternoon before a steadier snow picks up through tonight.
1-3″ of snow is expected through Saturday, but the best chance for those higher totals will be in eastern Connecticut.
NBC Connecticut NBC Connecticut
Winds could gust up to 40 miles per hour through Saturday as temperatures fall.
Wind chills could be as cold as -30 degrees through late Saturday and early Sunday.
Frostbite can form within 20-30 minutes of exposure in these conditions, so limit time outside this weekend.
High temperatures will warm back into the 30s by Tuesday.
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