Senate Leadership
January 25, 2007
Williams, Senate Democrats Unveil Connecticut Health First Initiative
Expands access to quality, affordable health care and looks ahead to future State ‘Medicare for All’ approach
Senator Williams announces the Connecticut Health First Initiative in a press conference at Hartford Hospital. Behind him are Senators Ed Meyer and Jonathan Harris. (January 25, 2007)
Joined by health care professionals, advocates and other lawmakers, Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) today unveiled the details of a plan to expand access to quality, affordable health care in Connecticut.
The Connecticut Health First Initiative provides coverage in the first year alone for more than 140,000 Connecticut residents currently without health insurance and works toward a Medicare-for-all type plan that brings better quality, simplicity and affordability in health care for all Connecticut citizens.
Among other measures, the plan expands state programs such as Medicaid, HUSKY for parents and children and State-Administered General Assistance so that more people are eligible for health insurance. It also expands access for those already qualified for these programs by substantially increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for doctors, hospitals, dentists and other health care providers.
"This is a defining moment for our state on the most pressing issue of our time--providing access to quality, affordable health insurance for Connecticut citizens," Sen. Williams said. "Today, we are announcing the Connecticut Health First Initiative. For too long, true reform in health care has been blocked by special interests. We call our initiative Health First because it is time to put aside ideology and move beyond protecting the special interests. It's time to focus on health first."
Said Sen. Williams, "After careful study I am convinced that we must work toward a Medicare-for-all-type program that brings better quality, simplicity and affordability in health care to all of our citizens. While this is best accomplished on the national level, in the absence of national leadership we must move forward in Connecticut to resolve the obstacles and issues, including federal approvals and waivers. This will take time, but we must begin now. We can also take immediate steps to insure up to 40 percent of those who have currently have no health insurance."
The Connecticut Health First Initiative includes:
Expanding Insurance Coverage to Those Without It:
- Increase HUSKY-A income limits for parents and relative caregivers from 150% of federal poverty level (FPL) to 185%
- For a family of 2, this would increase the income limit from $19,800 to $24,420; for a family of 3, this would increase the income limit from $24,900 to $30,710
- This expansion can reach an estimated 24,000 adults
- Increase outreach to get all eligible kids enrolled in HUSKY
- All uninsured children in Connecticut are eligible
- It is estimated that over 20% of the uninsured are kids and adults eligible for HUSKY and Medicaid, indicating a need for better outreach
- Combine HUSKY-A and B to achieve administrative simplification and efficiencies
- Restore Continuous Eligibility, a process which makes enrolling and re-enrolling in HUSKY easier
- Increase income limits for State-Administered General Assistance (SAGA), a state-run and state-funded program for childless adults, from 60% of FPL to 100% of FPL
- For a single person, this increases the annual income limit from $5,880 to $9,800
- Also, seek a federal waiver to include this population in the Medicaid program. This would provide a 50% match in funds from the federal government, maximizing our reimbursement for a plan that is now entirely state-funded
- This can reach over 10,000 individuals
- Raise the age of coverage for dependent children to at least 26 (currently 23 if a full-time student, 19 if not)
- This would expand coverage to many of the young individuals who are starting out in their first jobs
- Over 40% of the uninsured are between 19 and 34 years of age
Expanding Access to Health Care for Those With Public Insurance (Medicaid, HUSKY, SAGA):
- We propose to raise Medicaid rates significantly for physicians, hospitals, dentists and other health providers
- The low rates currently paid to Medicaid providers not only reduces access for those on Medicaid, but also is a significant contributor to high private insurance costs
- For dentists, we would seek to raise rates to 70% of the usual and customary costs
- For other health care providers, we would seek to raise rates to equal those paid by the Medicare program
- Convene a health care panel to examine and evaluate policy alternatives for covering those who remain uninsured or underinsured
- The panel will research and evaluate a broad scope of proposals, including, but not limited to: premium assistance programs, individual mandates for coverage, employer mandates for coverage and a statewide single-payer health care system
- The panel may also collect data on and promote wellness, nutrition, disease prevention and exercise among Connecticut residents
- The panel will report back to the legislature with recommended strategies for increasing access to health care for all of Connecticut's residents
Ensuring Quality Health Care in Connecticut:
- Convene a new group to identify a workable system for electronic medical records, with the goal to include all health care providers in the state on the same system, and potentially coordinate with neighboring states
- This would reduce duplication of tests and medical errors by allowing participating providers access to critical medical information
- Such a system would need to be safe and secure
- Increase Connecticut's efforts at data collection about quality and outcomes, allowing consumers to compare quality information and make better choices about health care and health care providers
- Institute comprehensive disease management programs, aimed at reducing costs and improving quality of life for people with asthma, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases
Also:
- Seek to strengthen the fiscal situation of school-based health centers
- Increase capacity at community health centers and federally qualified health centers in identified shortage areas
- Require employers to allow health care insurance premiums to be deducted pre-tax, to make insurance more affordable for employees.
Preliminary estimates put the cost of the new plan at about $450 million, half of which would be reimbursed by the federal government. "Right now, we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on direct care for the uninsured who, under the current system, end up treated in the emergency room when the problem is the most chronic and the solution is the most expensive. That has to change," Sen. Williams said. "Making an investment to keep the population--and the workforce--healthy is good for economy. And it is the right thing for society to do."
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Senator Williams’ Larry Cook |
Listing of Leadership’s recent press releases. |
Senator Looney’s Larry Cook |
