Health & Human Services

Washington –- With members of Congress worried that states have been lax in reporting and addressing the problem of children being sold for sex, Connecticut was pointed to at a Senate hearing Tuesday as a potential model.

“You all in Connecticut seem to have figured out how to put together a comprehensive strategy,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said to Joette Katz, the head of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families.

Katz responded that “shining a light” on the issue is the best thing you can do to combat child sex trafficking.

In a much-anticipated proposal, the state’s largest insurer has indicated what it wants to charge people buying coverage in the new insurance marketplace being created under federal health reform.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield said the average monthly premium for an individual health plan would be $440.65. The prices would vary based on each customer’s age, location and the specific health plan chosen, ranging from $101.73 to $1,259.

Targeting minors for prostitution is about to become a little more difficult for pimps and “johns.”

A bill that would make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute those who sexually exploit children -- and increase the penalty for those who knowingly solicit them -- is headed for the governor’s desk after receiving a unanimous vote from state legislators.