Gov. M. Jodi Rell today vetoed two controversial health bills that would have opened the state employee health insurance pool to municipalities, non-profits and small businesses and established a board of directors to implement a universal health care plan in the state.
“These are well-intentioned bills that seek to address critically important issues, but they ultimately fail to resolve the central problems of access and affordability,” Rell said in a written statement. “These bills also raise serious fiscal concerns that – in a time of record budget deficits, record unemployment and record business closures – simply cannot be ignored. These two bills would cost billions of dollars before any economic recovery is complete.”
It’s not clear whether Democrats, who overwhelmingly supported the measures, will have the votes to override Rell’s veto.
House Bill 6582, would have allowed a number of new employee groups to enter the state employee health pool, which currently covers about 98,000 active and retired state employees and their 97,000 dependents.
Rell said taking on new members to the pool, which is financially supported by state taxpayers and insurers, are risks the state cannot afford to take.
Rell also raised concerns about switching the pool to a self insured plan, saying it could result in an additional cost of at least $69 million for 2010 alone.
Meanwhile, House Bill 6600 would have established a nine-member board of directors to make recommendations for implementing the SustiNet Plan, which, among other things, aims to achieve universal health care in the state.
Rell criticied the measure saying it would not have given the board enough flexibility, including the option to suggest that the plan would be too expensive or unworkable in light of potential federal reforms.
“Limiting the board of directors to a specific approach is particularly unwise at this time,” Rell said.
Rell said the Office of Policy and Management has estimated that the SustiNet plan will likely cost about $1 billion per year.
“As staggering as this figure is, it does not reflect the costs for those with insurance whose employers would be encouraged to drop their plans, which could easily double this cost,” Rell noted.
Reader response:
“What a sad day for a woefully out-of-touch Governor Rell. She ignored the wishes of our elected representatives. She ignored OUR wishes and OUR need for health care security. She hung 350,000 uninsured Connecticut residents, including 40,000 children, and thousands more underinsured residents, out to dry. The whispering/shouting voices of the lobbyists of CBIA, Aetna, CIGNA, Anthem, and ConnectiCare filled her hears and blocked out everything else. And now her vetoes will be overridden.” — iBlog West Hartford
