Connecticut Healthcare Partnership

In the News 2007

December 12, 2007

LAWMAKER WANTS EXTEND STATE HEALTH BENEFITS

By MARISA MALDONADO
Norwich Bulletin

Lebanon, Conn. - Municipalities and teachers unions could save money on health insurance by joining the health-care plan for state workers, if House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan’s plan receives legislative approval.

Donovan, D-Meriden, is gathering input for a proposal he plans to present during the next legislative session that would allow municipalities to join the health-care plan for state employees. Municipal or school employees would choose from the providers already offered to state workers. Towns also could opt not to join the state plan, he said.

Municipalities would gain bargaining power by switching to a state plan as well as save costs, Donovan said. Connecticut’s health-care plan has about 250,000 enrolled, he said.

“We have a good plan. Why?” Donovan said. “We had 250,000 lives we could negotiate with as opposed to 200 lives we could negotiate with.”

Lebanon First Selectwoman Joyce Okonuk said the plan could help small towns such as Lebanon, which has 26 municipal employees. A family health-care plan costs the town about $18,000 annually per employee, she said.

“It takes a small catastrophe in a town our size, and your rates are skewed,” Okonuk said.

Miguel Garcia, president of the Lebanon Educators Association, which has 130 members, said he thinks it’s a great idea in theory. He said health care was a major concern in the teachers’ most recent contract negotiations.

“How will employees have input into their health care under the state plan?” Garcia wanted to know.

“Do you think you have control of health care?” Donovan said. “You don’t.”

Mal Leichter, director of business and technology for the Lebanon schools, likened existing negotiations on health care to choosing the “best of worst” options.

“In the state plan, you offer the exact same benefits ... and the difference is purely the networks,” Leichter said. “If the (state) plan’s benefits meet the employees’ needs, why don’t we save money?”

Premiums and co-pays would be negotiated between the town and its employees, Donovan said. He also said he would like to open the state’s health care plan to nonprofit organizations and small businesses. Each town, school union or organization would have to commit to the plan for several of years before having the option of getting out, he said.

Tom Conley, a highway worker in Lebanon’s public works department, said he liked the plan’s concept. But he expressed concerns that membership in a state plan would make it difficult to get answers to personal questions.

“The secretary in Hartford doesn’t care if you’re happy or not,” Conley said.

Donovan said municipal workers would serve as liaisons between employees and the state.

Reach Marisa Maldonado at 425-4255 or mmaldonado@norwichbulletin.com

December 12, 2007

LEBANON HEARS HEALTH CARE PLAN PITCH

By MIKE SAVINO
Chronicle Staff Writer

LEBANON — The strength of numbers can be a powerful thing during negotiations, according to state and local leaders at a health care forum Tuesday.

State House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, said small towns around the state should use that power to cut down on health care costs.

Each union in all of the 169 municipalities currently negotiates its own health insurance contract.

Donovan proposes the unions join 250,000 state employees to create a state self-insurance program.

Donovan hopes to make that a reality with two proposals that he intends to introduce to the state legislature next February.

He told First Selectman Joyce Okonuk, town union officials and employees that he wants to open up the state’s health care system to municipalities and he wants the system to go from fully-insured to a what is being called a self-insured Connecticut Healthcare Partnership.

He estimated towns could save as much as $1,000 per employee on an annual basis while providing better coverage if they pool their resources with the state.

He added that with the strength of 250,000 employees already covered by the program, the state has more leverage than any single small town.

“The state employee plans are some of the few plans that are richer in benefits than the munic-ipalities,’” Lebanon Education Association President Miguel Garcia said.

He said the LEA, the town’s teacher union, has 130 members and Okonuk added the town has between 200 and 225 employees in numerous unions.

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman also proposed an insurance package for local governments called Municipal Employees Health Insurance Program.

But Okonuk and Donovan both said town officials across the state are concerned the plan calls for 100,000 municipal employees to join a new program when they could just as easily join a larger system already in place.

Donovan said his plan also offers better benefits and lower premiums and thinks it would pass easily because state lawmakers would be less likely to strike down the plan they use.

He also wants to extend the plan to non- profit organizations, which already get funding from the state, and small business owners to allow more residents to cut their healthcare costs.

Donovan said the state could save as much as $150 million if it changed to a self-insurance system.

The state would then hire an outside firm for administrative work, but would pay medical costs itself, meaning the state could save money every year it collects more than it spends.

Garcia said he was concerned Lebanon could lose its voice in the negotiations if it joined a program as large as the CHP.

And Thomas Conley, who works for the Lebanon Department of Public Works, asked what would happen when employee appeals were handled by state officials instead of a salesman aiming to please customers.
Donovan said the towns and its employees would still have a voice in the system because their peers would operate it.

He also said towns could just leave the program if they are unhappy with the results.

Donovan said he was meeting with various town officials to gain support and receive feedback for his plan before he proposes it.

He added that every town that has talked with him, including Windham, has been supportive of the plan.

“I’ve yet to see a downside to it. It’s all positive,” he said.

State Sen. Edith Prague, DColumbia, was also in attendance and said Donovan was “on the right track.”

December 7, 2007

DONOVAN UNVEILS HEALTH PROPOSAL

By Karen A. Chase
Kent Good Times-Dispatch

State House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan (D-84) and State Rep. Roberta Willis (D-64) were in Kent last Thursday to discuss health care. Mr. Donovan, who arrived late to the meeting because of traffic after attending the funeral of former governor William O'Neil, addressed a small group of local first selectman and school administrators about his plan to lower health insurance costs.

First Selectman from Kent, Warren, Goshen and Sharon attended the meeting along with Region I Superintendent of Schools Patricia Chamberlain and business manager Sam Herrick. A representative from the local NEA (National Education Association), a labor negotiator and Kent town clerk Darlene Brady and several members of the press were also present.

Ms. Willis attended as a representative for her district and during the question-and-answer period presented some of her constituents' concerns.

Mr. Donovan's assistant, Josh Nassi, stood in for the majority leader prior to his arrival, and outlined his initiative titled "The Connecticut Healthcare Partnership." The partnership is proposed legislation that would allow municipal employees to join the state employee health insurance plan.

Mr. Donovan stated "they would create a larger pool of lives and lower costs." Mr. Donovan added, "This is a simple thing. The state can bargain for better rates for a lot of folks. When people are asked if they want good health care or bad health care, everyone chooses good. The state workers have a good plan and we think others should be able to share in it."

One large poster in the room detailed the "Basis for Savings" with bulleted talking points, including increased bargaining power, lower administrative costs, an elimination premium tax costs and carrier risk charges. A second poster detailed estimated savings for cities and towns of all sizes: New Haven, $8,664,337; New London, $689,045, East Hartford, $1,135,789 and Tolland, [the smallest of the towns listed], $50,551."

Mr. Donavan noted that this type of state-wide insurance pooling is already in operation in 24 other states. According to the handout, neighboring New York has been pooling its state and municipal employee insurance since 1958 and Massachusetts's Gov. Deval Patrick signed enabling legislation in July of this year.

He said that this plan would allow cities and small towns to offer employees better insurance for a lower rate. He also said that the rate for all employees could be lowered. Mr. Donovon said that the expected savings from pooling employees would be around a $1,000 a year per employee and, if the state were self insured, it would save the state of between $50 million and $100 million dollars a year.

State employees currently have 10 separate health insurance plans to choose from. There are almost 200,000 employees enrolled in state-offered health insurance. By adding municipalities and school employees Mr. Donovan estimated that the number would jump to between 500,000 and 600,000.

The Region 1 School District, which includes Kent, organized into a pool in 1997 to increase its purchasing power for a number of things including heating oil and health insurance. The school district has seven separate teachers' contracts with seven schools that it negotiates for. Mr. Herrick said "each teacher contract has sub-groups. There are five sub-groups such as non-certified personnel and the municipal government has sub-groups." He asked, "How will this affect them?"

Mr. Donovan replied that everyone would need to be in agreement. "Both sides," he said, "... need to work together on a system that gives them a cheaper health insurance plan that is a better plan."

One questioner noted that at least one of the plans is more expensive than those offered by the municipalities and asked what would happen if an employee chose that plan. Mr. Donovan said that if an employee chose a plan that was more expensive than what the municipality was willing to pay for, "the employee would be responsible for paying the difference."

Ms. Willis said that the towns she represents find it hard to bring in state funding. "Last year," she said, "my towns got a 3 percent increase but their insurance costs went up much higher. They look at this as a way to bring in savings.&quot

Ms. Willis added that despite the potential savings her "towns don't want it to be mandatory. They would rather pay more than be forced into a richer plan."

Mr. Donovan said at present the plan is not mandatory but added a quote from a friend, "I don't want it to be mandatory, but if you want it to work it has to be."

The balance of the questions concerned details of how the plan would work. For more information contact Mr. Donovan's office at 1-800-482-1902 or at Christopher.Donovan@cga.ct.gov

December 2, 2007

GROUPING FOR A SOLUTION

Record-Journal Editorial

State Representative Chris Donovan is traveling around Connecticut to gauge public support for a variety of enhanced health care group he’s terming a “partnership.”
 
The details are fluid. Donovan is hearing people’s ideas, seeing what the territory looks like. That’s all to the good. His basic premise is that it would make sense to add municipal employees on to the state’s employee benef its plan, thereby greatly increasing the strength of the bargaining position.
 
Meanwhile, Controller Nancy Wyman is testing the waters on a variant approach. Hers would create a separate group – but a large one – for municipal employees only.
 
As the two officials visit here and there – Donovan was in his own Meriden constituency just the other day – it is hard to imagine why there would be much opposition to such an idea from those who are employed by the towns and cities or by any agency of the state. The benefit plans which exist today for individual groups of municipal employees, and for the much larger group of state employees, are widely regarded as pace-setters, at least from an employee’s viewpoint.
 
Nonetheless, there are some difficulties.
 
For instance, each bargaining unit in each municipality currently negotiates its own benef its. This process is carried out town by town, city by city. The resulting contracts are not only far from uniform but, in fact, quite idiosyncratic. If they continue to be treated as separate units, how would the benefit of a larger insured group be realized? To treat them as a single group would undoubtedly take some major feat of legislative Léger demain.
 
Then, once such a group were created, it is fair to wonder not only how it would save on premiums, but also how the state or any town could negotiate on equal terms with this gigantic group.
 
The rather obvious remaining question would be, for those not state or municipal employees, “How do we get a state job?” By reputation, which probably exaggerates the disparities somewhat, public employee union benefits are to be envied. What effect will such an insured group have on other non-public employee units?
 
And f inally, while Donovan ’s idea is not to be sneered at in any way, there is another priority to be attended to — namely, Connecticut’s un- or under- insured. Bringing all state residents under the insurance blanket remains a prime goal. If achieving that end can be somehow advanced with Donovan’s partnership approach, or by Wyman’s for that matter, we eagerly await results.

November 30, 2007

INSURANCE ASSURANCE

By Jeffery Kurz
Record-Journal

In France they call health insurance “assurance,” which sounds more like what we’re all after, doesn’t it?

We want assurance that when we get sick or injured we’ll be taken care of, and that the cost of that care won’t wind up being worse than the injury or the illness. Unfortunately, too many Americans have no such assurance at all, and those of us who do are worried about hanging on to what we have, and consider ourselves lucky to have anything at all.

The more you think about it the more you’ll recognize it as a lousy predicament. We should all have assurance when it comes to health care.

In Connecticut, there are about 400,000 without any at all, 70,000 of them children. In Meriden, more than 4,500 people have no health insurance.

One of the many problems in today’s uncertain healthcare climate is getting people to recognize that even though they may already have some health insurance, the situation could be better. That’s what state House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan has been trying to do, on as yet a small scale. What he’s able or not able to accomplish should serve as a good measure of the state’s appetite for universal health coverage.

I first heard Donovan speak about this plan early this year. The idea is to hook up the state’s 169 municipalities under a single state employee plan. It would involve town and city employees, including those who work for public schools, in the same plan that covers the state’s employees.

You could call it a “the more the merrier” approach, or in more serious- sounding language, a collectivebargaining strategy. The more people under a plan, the reasoning goes, the better the deal that can be brokered on their behalf. The state now insures about 250,000 people under its plan, which includes the state’s lawmakers.

Adding municipal employees would significantly raise that number, obviously.

Donovan has always seen this as a step toward state universal health care. It’s a litmus test, of sorts, because it asks people who are relatively well off, at least when it comes to their coverage, to re-examine the situation and consider a unified approach. You hardly have to ask people without any coverage whether they want it, after all. The important question is how far are the rest of us willing to go?

This month and next, Donovan is touring the state to get a gauge of the answer to that question. He was in Meriden the other day. City Manager Lawrence Kendzior told the RecordJournal’s Amanda Falcone that any city employee would be hard pressed to match the benefits, but that a lingering question involves the costs. So we’ll wait and see.

This is no easy fact-finding tour.

The state’s municipalities have different plans, and there are varying union configurations. But it’s a progressive effort, and an encouraging sign at a time when there are few.

Those with health coverage resistant to the idea of a universal plan ought to consider that they’re already paying for those without, or those under state or federally subsidized programs. What’s going on today amounts to a kind of unwitting, or witless, socialized medicine.

Connecticut’s hospitals take all comers, regardless of ability to pay.

And that’s something the Nutmeg State can take pride in. But state and federal programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, pay less than what it costs to provide care, and hospitals respond to this de facto deficit by passing the costs on to those who can pay, which means people covered under employer-based programs. A universal plan would relieve us all from the confusion of playing this shell game.

jkurz@record-journal.com (203) 317-2213

November 29, 2007

MAYOR SKEPTICAL OF POTENTIAL HEALTH-CARE SAVINGS

By Scott Whipple
New Britain Herald

NEW BRITAIN — Better health-care insurance at lower premiums? It may sound too good to be true, House Majority Leader Chris Donovan, D-84th District, says it’s more than a pipe dream.

This month, Donovan kicked off his tour of towns and cities in the state to build support for his Connecticut Health Care Partnership plan. He estimates the plan can save cities as large as New Haven an estimated $8,664,337 and towns as small as Tolland, $50,551.

Through pooling, municipal employees would join with the state employee health plan, creating a large pool of insurance lives and lead to increased bargaining and lower costs.

However on Wednesday night during a meeting of legislators and union leaders, Donovan said Mayor Timothy Stewart wouldn’t release the figures regarding the city’s municipal workers’ health plan that would reveal potential savings to the city.

Stewart said these figures were public record and Donovan could’ve gotten them but he never asked for them. Council Michael Trueworthy assured Donovan he would get him the numbers.

“It’s a simple idea,” Donovan said. “You can have a good government health-care plan and save money at the same time. People think good health care is expensive; it doesn’t have to be.”

Meriden Mayor Mark Benigni has already bought into Donovan’s concept.

“All municipalities are searching for cost-effective means of providing quality health care for their employees,” Benigni said.

Executive Director of Council 4 AFSCME Sal Luciano said 26 states have passed legislation favoring high-quality, state administered single-pay health- care legislation.

“It’s time for Connecticut to follow suit,” he said.

Donovan believes once the partnership results in taxpayer savings, small business owners and nonprofit agencies will want to join the plan. He acknowledged that for the plan to work it needs to be mandated, but with 10 options for employees, lower premiums and better benefits mandating such a plan shouldn’t be an obstacle.

Donovan said the plan would be administered by a third party and controlled by the state. A committee composed of employees and managers would negotiate terms. He added that a realistic legislative goal for this kind of plan would be passage by June 2009. Gov. M. Jodi Rell would need to be sold on the plan before signing it into law.

State Rep. Tim O’Brien, D-24th District, said health-care partnership would be a good way to cut government waste, and should be attractive to business owners.

State Rep. Peter Tercyak, D-26th District, recalled how one day his family pharmacist informed him that medication for his sister, a terminal cancer victim, was no longer covered under her insurance policy. Tercyak said he hoped this practice would not be inherent in any health-care plan the state adopted.

“This is a good plan, a government plan,” Donovan said. “Now we need to forge this partnership town by town.”

But Stewart wasn’t buying it.

“Donovan can pedal his dog-and-pony show somewhere else. They want AFSCME to control this thing. Well, not here. This is an issue between me and my unions — not Chris Donovan.”

November 28, 2007

OFFICIALS LEARN MORE ABOUT INSURANCE PLAN

By DAVID HINCHEY
Chronicle Staff Writer

WILLIMANTIC — The town could be in line to save on health insurance with a proposed plan allowing municipal employees to join the state employee health insurance plan and save local taxpayers nearly $850,000, proponents claim.

Town officials met Tuesday at Windham Regional Community Council Inc., as state lawmakers indicated Windham has the potential to save $849,024 through pooling with state employees.

Currently, the town budgets $2.3 million in health insurance costs between the town and service district, while the board of education budgets $5.2 million, according to budget figures provided.

The $849,024 figure would be savings accrued from municipal employees and teachers pooling together to participate in the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership.

With towns and schools joining state employees, it would create a large pool of insurers leading to increased bargaining power and lower costs, a release said.

State Representative and House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, said this morning he’s still gathering information on implementing such an idea and whether it would need legislation.

Donovan was at Tuesday’s meeting and has partnered with state Rep. Walter Pawelkiewicz, D-Windham, to promote the idea. Donovan indicated the savings could be larger once everyone is pooled together and through negotiations.

It’s one thing I’m seriously pursuing,” he said. “It’s a way to save dollars and have a good health plan.”

Donovan said people currently have “bad healthcare plans that cost money” and his proposal would be for a good health care plan that saves towns money.

He said he’s touring the state to gauge interest, asking towns if his proposal works for different towns. Donovan said he would be in New Britain tonight to have a similar discussion.

Donovan said feedback was good from Tuesday’s meeting and it was “something people are def­initely looking to get involved with.”

So far, 25 states have imple­mented similar plans, as Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Massachusetts Municipal Partnership Act in July allowing municipal employees to join the state health care plan.

A release provided Tuesday night indicated the Massachusetts Municipal Association determined municipal health insurance costs increased by 13 percent on average each year over a six-year period, almost double the increase the Massachusetts plan experienced.

Windham First Selectman Jean de Smet said she was in favor of the idea.

“It’s definitely a huge step in the right direction,” she said. “It’s a wonderful idea.”

De Smet said she believed officials would seek permission in the next legislative session on the proposal.

She said her concern was giving the authority to the state, which might allow them to change the rules as they go along.

De Smet said the state could choose to continue or discontinue programs, but Donovan said there would be a health care costs and control board to oversee the program.

De Smet said she was also encouraged about the long-range idea of the proposal, as employees of non- profits and small busi­nesses could be added later on.

She said everybody wants to change the nature of the health insurance business and, by pooling together, it would take some of the “profit motive” out of the picture.

November 27, 2007

HEALTH-CARE PARTNERSHIP PROPOSED BY DONOVAN
Seeks to add municipal employees to state plan

By Amanda Falcone
Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN — State House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan is spreading the word.

“I need to prove that you can have a good health-care plan that saves money,” the Meriden Democrat said.
 
Donovan is visiting several Connecticut municipalities to talk about a healthcare partnership between the state and municipalities. On Monday, he was in his hometown to discuss the topic with city workers.

“The idea is to find out from the towns if they want this,” Donovan said. “I don’t have a specific plan. I’m on a tour.”

The partnership Donovan is promoting calls for municipal employees, including school staff, to join the state employee insurance plan. With more people under the state employee plan, employers would have more bargaining power and the cost of health insurance would be lower, Donovan said.

The state insures about 250,000 people in its plan. Increasing that number would help Connecticut, Donovan said, adding that he sees the partnership as a step toward universal health care.

“It’s a good plan, and I want everyone to have it,” Donovan said of the state health benefits he receives as a lawmaker. Meriden City Manager Lawrence Kendzior said he does not believe any city employee would turn down state benefits. Meriden insures about 1,900 people. “I’m pretty sure no employee would argue with state benefits,” Kendzior said. “They are more generous than any town I’ve ever seen.”
 
But Kendzior and union representatives said the city needs more information before it can determine whether it is interested in partnering with the state.
 
“The city would have to take a much closer look at it to see if there is a cost savings,” he said. City officials and union representatives are interested in comparisons and have asked Donovan to have his staff compare the state’s plan with the health-care packages offered in Meriden. Through collective bargaining, the city’s unions negotiate their benefits with city officials.

Meriden workers specifically want to see a breakdown for the Meriden Federation of Teachers.

“They are a large unit, and we need to see it,” said Diana Naimo, president of Local 595 American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

Erin Benham, co-president of the teachers union, attended Monday’s meeting.

“It was a refresher course on insurance,” she said.

Benham said members of the teachers union often discuss insurance. She said the union would be willing to discuss partnering with the state if the benefits are the same, the monthly premium is less and it saves the city money, Benham said teachers would especially be interested in the partnership if they were able to secure health-care benefits for retirees. Those who retire from teaching use their own money to pay for benefits, she said.
Donovan acknowledged Monday that his numbers are estimates, but said that even the rough figures show savings could be made.

The state pays $6,471 for an individual health-care plan, Donovan said. A comparable individual plan in Meriden costs $7,553, he said, noting that by switching plans the city would save money.
 
“I want to get the word out that this is a real possibility,” he said.
 
Donovan is not the only one trying to create a health-care partnership.

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman has her own ideas.
 
While Donovan is asking municipalities to partner with the state, Wyman wants them to create a group solely for municipal employees. A pool of 100,000 to 200,000 people would be able to purchase health insurance at a discounted rate, she said.

afalcone@record-journal.com (203) 317-2232

November 16, 2007

DONOVAN WOULD EXPAND STATE HEALTH PLAN

By Gregory B. Hladky
Capitol Bureau Chief
New Haven Register

HARTFORD — State House Majority Leader Christopher Donovan, D-Meriden, launched a campaign Thursday to open the state health care plan to some 250,000 municipal employees and their families.

Donovan argued such a system could dramatically reduce municipal health care costs by increasing bargaining power of local governments and lowering administrative and related costs.

But Republican critics of Donovan’s proposal question whether all municipalities would see savings from joining a state system that provides far higher benefits to employees than lots of municipal workers get. They said a bill in the 2007 General Assembly to require cities and towns to join such a system failed because municipalities don’t want a “one size fits all” program.

Democratic state Comptroller Nancy Wyman earlier this month asked insurance companies for bids on a system that would allow municipalities to join in a single insurance pool covering 100,000 to 200,000 individuals to provide a more accurate idea of what costs would be for cities and towns.

Wyman estimated her pool plan for municipal health plans could save small and mid-sized communities 10 percent to 15 percent on health costs, while large cities could realize savings of 5 percent to 8 percent.

Donovan, however, insisted his proposal “can save millions of dollars, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars by combining municipal health care plans with the state health care plan.”

But Donovan said he didn’t have information about how much money joint state-municipal health care systems have saved cities and towns in 26 states that have such programs.

According to one estimate by legislative researchers, a joint state-municipal health care insurance system could save New Haven $8.7 million a year.

The proposal would have no impact on rising health care costs for the majority of state citizens or provide new coverage for uninsured or underinsured state residents.

Donovan said a successful effort to bring municipal employees into the state health care system could convince the public that good, lower-cost health care is achievable.

Legislation to authorize a joint state-municipal health insurance pool was introduced in the 2007 General Assembly but failed. Donovan said it failed because “municipal people were a little hesitant to trust us.”

But state Rep. Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, said he strongly opposed the 2007 bill because it would have forced municipalities to join the state system. “What is the goal?” asked Candelora. “Is it tax savings for municipalities or reform of our health care system? If it’s reform, it falls short.”

Candelora said municipal employees already are insured and being forced to join a state system could be more expensive for some communities.

State Rep. Craig Minor, R-Litchfield, said municipalities have been able to voluntarily join the state system for years but many simply find it too expensive.

Michael Trueworthy, New Britain Common Council majority leader, said health care costs for his city’s 1,600 employees and their families now is about $20 million a year. He said joining the state and other municipalities to negotiate health insurance would increase the city’s bargaining power “by a thousand fold.”

Sal Luciano, executive director of Council 4, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said unions would need to agree to reopen municipal contracts to allow cities and towns to join a state health insurance pool.

Donovan said he isn’t sure whether his proposal should mandate all municipalities to take part in the state health plan or make it voluntary. He said that for the municipal-state scheme to produce significant savings, there must be “a certain threshold” of participation, providing at least 100,000 municipal workers and family members. “My hope is that it would be voluntarily mandatory,” Donovan said.

November 16, 2007

DONOVAN PROMOTES HEALTHCARE PARTNERSHIP
Move seen as step toward universal coverage

By Amanda Falcone
Record-Journal staff

HARTFORD — Flanked by Democratic state lawmakers and municipal and union officials Thursday, House Majori­ty Leader Christopher G. Donovan introduced the idea of a healthcare partnership between the state and cities and towns.

The partnership calls for municipal employees, including school staff, to join the state employee health insurance plan. With more people under the plan, employers will have more bargaining power and the cost of health insurance will be lower, said Donovan, D­Meriden.

Communities across the state are expected to save money under the plan, he said. Cities like New Haven could potentially save $8.6 million, while smaller towns like Tolland could save about $50,500. Donovan said he is working with his staff to learn firm savings numbers for all 169 Connecticut municipalities.

Sal Luciano, executive director, Council 4, for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the cost of healthcare in the last six years has gone up by almost 90 percent — about five times the rate of inflation.

“This is not sustainable,” he said, adding that he has been pushing for a healthcare partnership between municipalities and the state for years.

Twenty-six states, including Massachusetts and New York, already have local government employees covered by a state employee plan.

“This is nothing new across the country, but it is new here in Connecticut,” Donovan said.

The partnership between municipal and state employees would set an example and become a model for introducing more people into the plan, Donovan said. It is one step toward getting universal healthcare in Connecticut, he said.

“I want every state resident to say, ‘Chris, I want your healthcare plan,’ and I’ll work hard to get it,” Donovan said. “I want the public to clamor at this.”

Meriden’s mayor, Democrat Mark D. Benigni, says he supports Donovan’s initiative.

“I think this is a journey long overdue,” he said.

While optimistic, Benigni said he wants to take a closer look at the financial numbers to determine whether the plan will truly benefit the city.

Although Donovan does not have concrete numbers, he said he already sees savings for Meriden’s employees. An individual healthcare plan in Meriden costs $7,550, while the same individual plan for state employees costs $6,000, he said.

About 250,000 people are currently insured on the state’s plan, and Donovan said that number would only increase if the partnership between local and state government becomes a reality. Donovan said he is not sure whether entering into the partnership would be voluntary or mandatory, but he said he would like to see all Connecticut municipalities participate.

The public has told me that they want a good, but afford­able, healthcare plan, and the proposed partnership is the first step in making it happen, Donovan said.

While Sen. Leonard A. Fasano, R-North Haven, the Senate’s minority leader pro tempore, said he is willing to take a look at the partnership Donovan is suggesting, he said he would rather spend his time making sure that the 200,000 uninsured Connecticut residents get the healthcare they need.

“Let’s deal with that issue first,” Fasano said. “Let’s look at the folks who don’t have insurance.”

Fasano also said he is concerned that a healthcare partnership, especially a mandatory one, might offset union contracts and take away local control from cities and towns.

During the 2007 session of the General Assembly, state lawmakers considered a similar plan that would have fostered a partnership between the state and cities and towns, but the idea never made it to a vote.
“We were close, but not quite there,” Donovan said.

At Thursday’s press conference in the Legislative Office Building, Donovan said he is leading discussion on a potential partnership, and he said he expects to know how he will proceed with the idea by the start of the 2008 legislative session in February.

If the partnership were to happen, Donovan said he expects to continue to push toward universal healthcare, but noted that universal healthcare may not be a reality for quite some time.

“You can take each day at a time and keep pushing for it,” he said.

Donovan will begin a statewide tour to discuss the idea of a partnership with local leaders this month. He will be discussing the healthcare partnership at Meriden’s City Hall Nov. 26 at 4 p.m.

“We are taking it on the road,” Donovan said. “We’re going to form partnerships, talk to people.”

afalcone@record-journal.com (203) 317-2232

November 15, 2007

LEGISLATOR MOVES TO EXPAND HEALTH BENEFITS SYSTEM

By Ken Dixon
Connecticut Post

HARTFORD — House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan believes that a path to universal health care coverage requires first bringing more than 200,000 municipal employees, teachers and their families into the existing state-benefits system.

Towns and cities could save millions of dollars if such a pooling initiative were to go forward, Donovan , D-Meriden, said Thursday.

That, the lawmaker said, could have a positive impact on local property taxes at a time when local insurance rates are sharply rising.

Donovan , during a morning news conference with state and local officials in the Capitol complex, said he’s on a statewide tour of towns and cities in attempt to gauge potential support for the partnership idea, which would require concessions from local unions.

“It all comes down to volume and bargaining power,” Donovan said, adding that big cities such as New Haven could save $8 million a year or more in health benefits for its employees.

“The state plan is already established,” Donovan said. “If we add more, it makes it better. We want to prove it to people that you can have a good health care plan and save dollars.”

Sal Luciano, executive director of AFSCME Council 4, said that the ultimate goal is for a so-called single-payer system, but the shortterm solution is to expand coalitions similar to systems emerging in 26 states.

“Both sides can agree to open up a contract,” Luciano said, noting that the decision to participate would be up to individual municipal bargaining units.

Such an initiative would be a major step toward eventually bringing small businesses and the self-employed into affordable insurance plans, he said, adding that the bridge to assisting under-insured and uninsured people is to expand offerings in the style of Medicare, with income-based guidelines.

“But that’s further down the line,” said Donovan . “The first step is let’s get our state in order and let’s figure out a way to trim costs.”

Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, said Thursday that the proposal is intriguing because of the potential ramifications on local property taxes.

“The concept of pooling has been interesting because the numbers seem to indicate we could save our town municipal budgets a huge sum of money, which we can tie to property- tax relief, which is the No. 1 issue in my town,” Fawcett said in a phone interview. “Helping with the rising cost of medical insurance is good.”

The goal, she agreed would be to eventually open up the state-employees health plans to everyone.

“You have to start somewhere,” Fawcett said.

Overall potential savings have not yet been estimated, Donovan said, adding that by the start of the next legislative session in February, there should be enough information to push legislation.

“I want to address this issue this year, absolutely,” Donovan said. Similar legislation failed during this year’s session. “People were a little nervous about moving ahead without having more discussion, so we’re having more discussion,” he said.

Meanwhile, State Comptroller Nancy Wyman’s office said Thursday that last week, it sent out requests for bids on a program that would pool municipal employees to purchase health insurance at a discounted rate. Wyman’s plan, which would not require legislative action, would be an expansion of the existing Municipal Health Insurance Plan administered by her office.

She estimated that the pool’s purchasing power and economies of scale, including cuts in administrative costs, would provide savings of up to 15 percent for small and mid-size towns and up to 8 percent cost reductions for cities.

Potential bids for the contract are due to Wyman’s office by Dec. 21.

November 15, 2007

DEMOCRAT LEADER KICKS OFF TOUR TO PUSH HEALTH CARE PROPOSAL

Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The majority leader of the state House of Representatives is kicking off a statewide tour in hopes of adding municipal employees to the state employee health insurance plan.

Democratic Rep. Christopher Donovan of Meriden says that creating a larger pool of workers will lead to increased bargaining power and lower costs.

He hopes to get enough support to pass a bill in the new legislative session, which opens in February. A similar bill died last year.

But state Comptroller Nancy Wyman, also a Democrat, says cities and towns will save more money under her proposal. That plan would group 100,000 to 200,000 municipal employees across the state into a pool that would purchase health insurance at discounted rates.
Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

November 15, 2007

POOLING PAVES THE WAY FOR UNIVERSAL PACKAGE

by Christine Stuart
CT News Junkie

Last year’s attempt to get municipal employees into the same health insurance pool as state employees died on the House calendar, but Majority Leader Chris Donovan, D-Meriden, has a plan to make it a reality next year.

At a press conference Thursday he said taxpayers could save millions, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars by creating a larger pool of individuals who need insurance. He said then you take the idea of pooling public employees and expand it to the general public allowing private businesses to get into the plan.

He said it’s a way to prove to everyone universal health care works.

But the idea of pooling wasn’t able to pass last year, so what makes this year any different?

Donovan said last year they forgot to go around and get the input of local officials. So starting this week, Donovan said he’s going to start visiting each city and town in the state to talk with local officials and solicit information about their health care costs and find out if the state plan would save them money. Last year, “municipal officials were hesitant to trust us,” Donovan said.

An Office of Legislative Research there are already 26 states in the nation that combine both their local and state employees in one insurance pool. The same report shows mid-sized towns like East Hartford could save $1.14 million and large cities like New Haven could save $8.6 million in insurance costs, if they were able to buy into the state employee insurance pool.

First Selectwoman Joyce Okonuk, a Democrat from Lebanon, said Thursday that over the past five years her small town health insurance costs have risen 12 percent. She said the increase has prohibited the town from hiring more staff. She said she’s very excited about the possibility of pooling.

AFSCME Council 4 Executive Director Sal Luciano, who represents municipal and state employees, said the union is on board with pooling because it puts the state one-step closer to a single-payer form of universal health care.

Universal Health Care Foundation President Juan Figueroa, said in a statement released Thursday afternoon, that “Pooling is also among a number of approaches that have the potential to pave the way for universal health care. We believe pooling could be an effective reform measure as part of an overall framework that addresses quality and access as well as cost.”

Eric George, a lobbyist for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said that’s why pooling is, so dangerous. “It’s a short bridge to single-payer,” he said. Click here to read about CBIA’s position on the bill, as it was under discussion last year.

This year supporters of the idea are more optimistic about its chances of passing. State Comptroller Nancy Wyman is so optimistic she’s already released a request for proposal.

On Nov. 7 Wyman released the request for proposal for a program that would group municipal across the state into a pool that would purchase health insurance at discounted rates.