GOOD IDEA...BUT, NO
 

Last month, lawmakers ended their annual legislative session and tried to escape to their districts to focus on reelection. Unfortunately, the harsh economic realities of 2008 are pulling them back to the State Capitol this week and forcing them to expand what they hoped would be a narrow-focus issue agenda.

She held out until the last day of legal consideration of the bill, and played cat-and-mouse with reporters and lawmakers about her intentions, but in the end, Republican Gov. Jodi Rell took the expected step by vetoing the so-called health care insurance "pooling" bill, one of the most hard-fought and controversial pieces of legislation in the 2008 General Assembly session.

The measure was touted by its Democratic sponsors as an innovative attempt to offer the benefits-rich state employee health care plan to municipal employees, and workers for non-profits and small businesses. It would do so by "pooling," including these new workers in the existing pool of some 200,000 state employees and retirees.
 

Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a supporter of the bill, tried to "save" the measure from a veto, by issuing a legal opinion that stated insurance providers for the state could not unilaterally hike health insurance rates if the "pool" increased, because they had a contract with the state. However, Blumenthal also ruled the state could not use the new law unilaterally to throw new workers into the "pool" because of that same contractual agreement.

Thus the only option would be two separate pools of workers until a new overall contract was crafted down the road. The two pools reality provided new fodder for a gubernatorial veto.

When the bill passed the legislature, Rell expressed concern that "pooling" could destroy $54 million in savings on health care the state had negotiated in the state employee health contracts. She said the state could not risk those savings in this time of economic stress.

Beyond that fear, Rell said the estimates of cost savings for cities and towns and health insurance opportunities for small businesses just could not be backed up with facts. "Any state law that impacts billions of dollars in costs and liabilities needs to be based on a firmer analytical and actuarial foundation," Rell said in her veto message.

The governor also questioned whether small companies, unable to provide health coverage now, could really take advantage of the state program "given that the current average annual cost of the state employee plan is approximately $12,300." Rell also contends the proposed "pooling" bill might duplicate MEHIP, the existing Municipal Employees Health Insurance Plan, currently available to many non-profits and small businesses.
The key sponsor of the "pooling" bill, State House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan (D-Meriden), said he was "very disappointed" by Rell's veto which he said amounts to a "missed opportunity for real health care relief." Donovan claimed the information Rell used to justify her veto "is wrong." He charged that she was "swayed by threats and numbers from the insurance companies."

Blumenthal called the veto "an unneccessary, unfair setback to public health."
Donovan and Blumenthal vowed to fight on, and ironically Rell hinted she might be willing to work out a compromise next year.

"Not only do I believe the (pooling bill) is well-intentioned, I also believe the concept has real potential to help at least some cities, towns, nonprofits, and small businesses," Rell revealed. "I would very much like to explore the pooling idea further and make sure all of the costs and risks are understood--and anticipated in the budget--next session," she said.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams (D-Brooklyn) likely will hold Rell to that statement. "I remain committed to passing a health care pooling bill into law and it will be one of our top priorities next legislation session."
 

Posted 6/16/08

Comments or questions?  Contact us at  CTReport@crnradio.com

© Connecticut Radio Network