Even when patients go to a hospital within their insurance coverage network, they still risk being seen by individual physicians who don’t take their insurance. Later, patients may get billed for the amount their insurance company doesn’t cover for out-of-network services. A new study by researchers at Yale University found that some of these out-of-network charges can be significant among certain specialties.

Predicting the direction of the economy is a notoriously tricky business, and it may be even more difficult than usual as we look further into 2020. That’s because the year ahead is full of political and financial uncertainty -- both for Connecticut and for the nation. Connecticut Public gathered thoughts and predictions from some of the state’s foremost economic thinkers.

A major U.S. insurer headquartered in Connecticut said it will cut ties with certain fossil fuel companies. The Hartford said in December that it will no longer invest in or provide insurance coverage to companies that generate more than a quarter of their revenues from coal mining or the extraction of oil from tar sands.

Tax season is upon us, and for low- and moderate-income filers, free help is at hand. VITA sites will spring up beginning this week at libraries, community centers and schools around the state. VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, and it’s just what it sounds like: volunteer preparers, trained by the IRS, who will do your taxes on the spot -- for free.

A lawsuit by families of victims of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has the potential to significantly change what the world knows about how the gun industry thinks and operates. After years of delays, the lawsuit is moving forward, which may force the gun industry to make public what it considers private.

A multi-state coalition of Democratic state attorney’s general and a governor are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on a recent court decision on the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in an effort to preserve the federal health care law.

Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to another outstanding gardening year. To kick it off, I make lists of new vegetable varieties to try. Here are a few that caught my eye!

A recent stabbing at a Hanukkah gathering in New York has local leaders in the Jewish community worrying about acts of anti-Semitism taking place in Connecticut.

Frank Tavares -- known as “the voice of NPR” -- has died. For decades, his was the friendly but authoritative voice that told public radio listeners that “funding for NPR comes from Lumber Liquidators,” or “the Pajamagram Company.”

Federal officials have earmarked more than $250 million to address concerns related to PFAS chemical contamination. The money was set aside as part of a spending package approved by Congress earlier this month, but it’s unclear what impact the dollars will have locally.