Patrick Biggins

Dear Neighbor,

We're in the midst of our second heat wave of the summer, and it's only mid-July. It's Connecticut. We love our differing seasons, including this one. However, during times like these, it is important to stay hydrated.  Let's also keep an eye on our most vulnerable, and of course, our furry friends. The state's extreme heat protocol ends on Friday. More details below.

The governor recently signed new legislation, including putting patients first and holding insurance companies accountable. Since our last correspondence, I have plenty of offerings for you to consider in the "Biggins Books" section this week.

As always, please feel free to reach out to my office with any suggestions or concerns. 

Sincerely,

Patrick Biggins
State Representative

New legislation signed by Governor Lamont prioritizes patients and holds insurance companies accountable.
 
Here’s a closer look at what it does:

• Caps excessive premium hikes. Allows the Connecticut Insurance Department to limit rate increases for insurers with a track record of increasing costs.
• Enforces mental health parity with real consequences. Insurers must treat mental health like physical health, and those who don’t comply can face fines up to $625,000 and must publicly report how they’re doing.
• Ends harmful “step therapy” delays. Patients with MS, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression will no longer be forced to try cheaper meds first while their condition worsens, and trial periods are also cut from 60 to 30 days.

The governor also recently signed legislation establishing a range of new incentives and protections for farm owners in the state.
 
Among the provisions:

• ️20% tax credit for “farm investment property”
• ️Crop loss reimbursement
• ️Drone regulations to boost innovation
• ️Support for shellfish, agritourism & more
• ️Expanding land access grants

Full disclosure? I hope that you're encouraged to pick up a book, any book, and just read. Reading is a wonderful way to relax, relieve stress, enhance brain activity, and more.

In the last few weeks, I've read:

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle.

I do not recommend this book, but essentially, it talks about being fully present and getting out of your head.  The other good takeaway was that people have to do a great deal of work to overcome what they are conditioned to expect, so things we give value to, choices might be more of a conditioned response than an independent choice.

The Tell: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir by Amy Griffin.

I highly recommend this one, maybe because of the former college athlete in me and my appreciation of another’s story, but also because of the truth that is shared.  This book is about how we all portray ourselves and strive for things in life, but unless we face our past, we cannot truly control our future.  It is one person's story about what they overcame and how it affected their life.

Furysong by Rosaria Munda.

This book is the last in the series, and it is a good wrap-up of the plot.  It is well written and has you invest in the conflict of power, overthrowing power, and then becoming the thing you hated in the past regime, and how to be self-reflective in how you use your power.

The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life by Robin Sharma.

My wife hates this one because it has me waking up at 5 am again. In the summer, that is not her idea of relaxation, and she is right, but you can get so much done while the rest of the world is still asleep.

Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir

This is a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone. Apparently, I’m many years late. If you, like me, have also not read this book up until now, it is worth the read, and struggling through all of the scientific language.