Legislative Office Building, Room 3004
Hartford, CT 06106-1591
(860) 240-8585 | 1-800-842-8267
Elizabeth.Ritter@cga.ct.gov
24 Old Mill Road
Quaker Hill, CT 06375
(860) 444-1700
Let’s Take an Opportunity to Save on Healthcare Costs
By Elizabeth “Betsy” Ritter,
State Representative, 38th District
I am calling on Governor Rell to take an opportunity to help us save on healthcare insurance.
This session, the legislature passed the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership. The product of two years of work, the bill will allow municipalities, small businesses and non-profits to choose to join the state employee health insurance plan, creating an even larger pool of insured lives. This massive insurance pool would lead to increased bargaining power when it is time to negotiate with insurance providers and lower costs for everyone involved.
We have calculated potential savings for many cities and towns and that would translate into help for taxpayers. By comparing the current costs for municipal employees with the current state employees costs for a similar benefit plan, we estimate savings for New London at $680,000, Groton at $1.1 million, and Windham at $800,000, just to name a few.
Non-profit organizations are excited to report opportunities to provide improved benefits for their employees at reduced or similar costs from what they must pay today. Small businesses would in many cases have for the first time the chance to take advantage of the savings and benefits of a large insurance pool for their employees.
People in the business of selling health insurance to small businesses claim that the savings don’t add up. They are only looking at the state’s most expensive plan offered (a plan that even most state employees avoid) and assuming all employees would make this choice. In fact, there is a range of plans available for choice. A true comparison shows all of the options that state employees have - ranging from approximately $13,000/year to $22,000 for family coverage. The co-pays are the same. The benefits are the same. The price depends on the network that you choose and if you want a primary-care physician as a gatekeeper. This is all about providing options for employers to choose the plan and price that makes sense for their business. Or continue with the status quo.
One of the advantages of the state’s big pool bargaining power is that we can accept bids from multiple insurance companies, which means more choices for municipalities, small businesses and non-profits. Most employers are only able to offer one or two plans to their employees. Joining the state plan would mean they could offer more than ten.
I do not mean to minimize the pressure from the insurance industry lobby the Governor is under when I ask her to sign the Connecticut Healthcare Partnership into law. I am asking her to think carefully about this opportunity to take a step beyond the status quo. I am asking her to sign this bill.