Senate Leadership
July 13, 2006
Williams Unveils Initiative for Universal Health Care: Quality Care While Stabilizing Costs
Remake of healthcare delivery system needed to stabilize costs and sustain access
Senator Williams announces his plan for universal health care in Connecticut. (July 13, 2006)
State Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus today announced several initiatives designed to provide all Connecticut citizens with access to quality healthcare, while also remaking the entire healthcare delivery system to stabilize the skyrocketing costs of healthcare. The key areas he raised were early prevention, wellness, easy access to primary care and relief for businesses and employers.
"The many proposals for universal healthcare we have seen here in Connecticut and across the country have excellent components for providing access to quality healthcare," Sen. Williams said. "However, we need to realize that a redesign of the healthcare delivery system to provide a greater emphasis on primary care and prevention is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Simply finding a way to pay for today's care without further reform will not be sustainable in the future because of the spiraling costs of the existing system."
Last month, Sen. Williams said this two-pronged approach would be his number-one priority for the state and that he sees the issue as one of economic development. "The lack of healthcare coverage is directly affecting our workforce, which means it is having a negative effect on our economic development efforts. 83% of uninsured households in the state have at least one working adult- low-income families who earn too much for public assistance but not enough to buy coverage. If we are to retain and grow good jobs in the state, we must address this problem," he said.
Added Sen. Williams, "Now is the time to take aggressive action to eliminate the disparities in access to quality healthcare. We will bring together legislators, healthcare providers, insurance industry experts, advocates, the public and anyone else interested in this admittedly substantial undertaking."
Among the initiatives announced today:
1. Early Prevention: Expanding school-based health centers (SBHCs) to be available to all public school students:
- Preventive care, including screenings and immunizations, as well as diagnosis and treatment of certain acute and chronic illnesses
- Behavioral health care
- Oral health care
- Link to other services in the community: Local health departments, community health centers, hospitals, social service providers, mental health and family service agencies, youth service bureaus, etc
2. Wellness: Increasing the state's commitment to "health" care and wellness:
- Complete physical exams for every adult in the state, including
- all screenings and immunizations appropriate to age, gender, culture and race (prostate cancer, mammogram, Pap smear, diabetes, hypertension, etc)
- Personalized nutrition and exercise plans (Medicaid would commit to paying for treatment for smoking cessation--quitting is one of the most effective ways of improving long-term health of individuals and their families)
- Computerized individual medical records, keeping them confidential and making them portable to improve treatment and prescription drug accuracy
3. Easy Access to Primary Care: Committing to state-subsidized private clinics to provide primary care and urgent care (ex: walk-in clinics or hospital-affiliated clinics) contracted for, and subsidized, in whole or part, by the state that would:
- Provide access to all primary care
- Be available for those with and without insurance. For those without insurance, care would be provided at no-or-low-cost, on a sliding fee scale based on income
- Be open "after hours" for urgent, but non-emergency, care. This would save money by cutting down on emergency room visits for ear infections, bad cuts, fevers, stomach bugs
- Include linkages with community providers for specialty care and screenings and with pharmacies to allow for discounts and bulk purchasing of prescription drugs
- Providers who agree to work in these clinics for a certain number of hours annually would receive loan forgiveness and tax benefits and would be able to purchase lower-cost malpractice insurance through the state
- Enable those who wish to keep their primary care physicians to do so
4. Relief for Business and Employers: Purchasing pool for businesses and individuals:
- Expansion of the Municipal Employee Health Insurance Plan (MEHIP, currently open to municipalities, small businesses, certain nonprofits and municipal retirees) to include all uninsured adults who are ineligible for HUSKY
- "Carve out" of a prescription drug benefit for all new enrollees in MEHIP plans. Instead of the health plans offering prescriptions, a Pharmacy Benefit Manager would oversee prescriptions for this population. This would allow for major savings in the prescription drug area.
- Tax incentives for businesses that continue comprehensive coverage for their employees and dependents
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Senator Williams’ Larry Cook |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Larry Cook |
