| The General Assembly’s override of Governor
M. Jodi Rell’s well-thought out veto of the so-called
SustiNet Plan bill brings Connecticut one step closer
to a statewide universal health care system that taxpayers
cannot afford and that may ultimately fail.
The need for health care reform is a pressing national
issue. But implementing the pricey SustiNet Plan legislation
in Connecticut is not the answer – especially
now when the state is operating under executive order
because the General Assembly has not yet passed a budget
for the current fiscal year. As Governor Rell noted
in her veto message, the state Office of Policy and
Management has estimated that SustiNet has the potential
to cost approximately $1 billion per year. Right now,
the state is facing an $8.5 billion deficit over the
next two years, the unemployment rate is eight percent,
and tax revenues continue to decline.
This legislation, House Bill 6600 (Public Act
09-148), An Act Concerning The Establishment Of The
SustiNet Plan, is among the 20 bills vetoed by
Governor Rell this year. Of those, the General Assembly’s
majority leadership attempted to lead an override of
eight vetoes, and succeeded in securing an override
of seven. I joined all my fellow Republican Senators
in supporting Governor Rell’s attempt to protect
Connecticut taxpayers from the consequences of implementing
the SustiNet Plan legislation.
Specifically, the legislation calls for the creation
of a board charged with making recommendations to the
General Assembly by January 1, 2011 on the details and
implementation of a self-insured health care delivery
plan. Among other things, these recommendations must
address the establishment of a public authority, or
other entity, with the power to contract with insurers
and health care providers and set reimbursement rates.
Furthermore, the board will recommend provisions for
phasing in the offering of the SustiNet Plan to state
employees and retirees, HUSKY A and B beneficiaries,
people without employer sponsored insurance, people
with unaffordable employer sponsored insurance, small
and large employers, and others.
I share Governor Rell’s concern that the board
charged with making recommendations to the General Assembly
is being told the approach to take to health care reform
before there is an analysis of the full costs of implementing
such a plan, along with an analysis of such a plan’s
effectiveness in reducing the number of uninsured state
residents.
Furthermore, considering that President Obama is pushing
Congress to pass universal health care legislation and
lower health care costs, it is premature for Connecticut
to move forward on SustiNet. At this point, we simply
do not know whether Connecticut’s SustiNet plan
will complement whatever health care reform legislation
is ultimately passed by Congress.
It is important for Connecticut families and for our
economy to improve access to health care and to lower
health care costs. Establishing a state sponsored universal
health care plan without first knowing if it will work
with yet-to-be-passed federal legislation; without first
analyzing its effectiveness in reducing the number of
unemployed state residents; and without having a much
better idea of both its short and long-term costs to
state taxpayers is a very bad idea.
Believe it or not, it could have been even worse.
The General Assembly failed – by one vote –
to override the Governor’s veto of companion legislation
that, among other things, would have converted the state
employee health care plan to a self-insured plan available
to municipal government workers, non-profit employers
and small employers. In her veto of House Bill 6582
(Public Act 09-147), An Act Establishing The Connecticut
Health Care Partnership, Governor Rell noted that
some of the people this bill is intended to help already
have insurance, others will not be able to afford to
participate, and implementing this legislation could
jeopardize the favorable ratings and costs of the current
state employee insurance plan.
As always, I welcome the opportunity to discuss this,
and other issues, important to our state. I can be reached
at my legislative office in Hartford at 1-800-842-1421,
or via e-mail to
Rob.Kane@cga.ct.gov.
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