Youth Employment Program Helping Young Connecticut Residents Explore Careers

Gov. Ned Lamont highlighted Tuesday a significant funding increase for the Connecticut Youth Employment Program, which connects workers ages 14-24 to meaningful, career-oriented employment. This program allows participants to get real, hands-on career training, network with professionals in their field of interest – all while earning a paycheck.

Connecting people to the world of employment at a young age has a marked benefit on their development — from improving job readiness, to increasing leadership skills and strengthening their economic stability.

The Connecticut Youth Employment Program aims to help young people overcome common barriers to employment. Not only does it connect participants with career opportunities, the program covers participant salaries and expenses, such as uniforms or transportation.

According to the Governor’s Office, approximately 94% of youths participating in the program are high school students, 2% are in college, and 4% are not in school. Additionally, with a focus on disconnected and underserved young people, the program provides community support and resources.

“This program is an incredible asset both to our young people and their families, but also to local businesses,” said Sen. Julie Kushner, chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee. “The next generation of workers are getting hands-on experience, learning alongside professionals in their fields and they are being compensated for their work. By learning workplace skills and expectations at a young age, these individuals will enter the workforce with a monetized skillset, leading them to higher wages and more job security.”

Young people who seek to enroll in this program should contact their local Workforce Development Board, contact information can be found at this link.

Posted by Garnet Laughlin

Connecticut Boosts Health Care Support for Paraeducators

A temporary subsidy program launched last year to help thousands of Connecticut paraeducators cover out-of-pocket health care expenses has been renewed and expanded, state officials announced Tuesday.

During a mid-day press conference outside Meriden’s Francis Maloney High School, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said the bolstered program would help school districts fill critical paraeducator vacancies as students returned to classrooms across Connecticut.

“There is already a shortage of these individuals [paraeducators] to meet the needs that we have in the classrooms of Connecticut and so we came together and did what Connecticut does best, which is — thanks to the governor’s leadership, the legislature — we got everyone around a table and we figured out what we could do to solve what was very big problem,” Scanlon said.

Last year, the program received $5 million in state funding and helped 4,166 paraeducators cover out-of-pocket expenses under high-deductible health care plans. State officials have renewed that subsidy for this school year.

This year, policymakers also dedicated an additional $5 million to expanding the initiative through a second subsidy intended to offset the cost of insurance premiums paid by paraeducators who are enrolled in traditional copay plans.

State officials expect the two subsidies to assist a combined total of roughly 6,000 paraeducators across the state.

Sen. Jan Hochadel, a Meriden Democrat and former teacher, said the assistance would begin to remedy a disparity between the vital work performed by paraeducators and the compensation they receive. She described paraeducators as the “glue” that held many schools together, often caring for and supporting many of the state’s most vulnerable students.

“The truth is, our public schools could not provide the academic and social support that are needed for all students without our paraeducators,” Hochadel said, “and, as has been mentioned many times, these are most often our lowest-paid workers.”

Sen. Doug McCrory, a longtime educator who co-chairs the legislature’s Education Committee, said he found paraeducators to be essential to a functioning classroom. McCrory said the expanded subsidy announced Tuesday represented a step toward fair compensation for paraeducators.

“As we continue to move forward, we need to provide a living wage and also encourage more of our young people to get that experience in the classroom,” McCrory said. “I know so many people who were paras at first and became teachers themselves because they had that experience.”

During the press conference, Gov. Ned Lamont praised Connecticut’s schools as the best in the nation and said he expected to continue building on the health care subsidies for paraeducators who supported those schools.

“What I love about our state is we care about these kids,” the governor said. “And a little bit of extra respect to show what we can do for our paras — make it a little bit easier for them to show up every day, make it a little bit easier for them to live. That’s what we’re trying to do today, that’s what this subsidy means.”

Posted by Hugh McQuaid

Cabrera Proposes Public Option as the Answer to Proposed Insurance Rate Hikes

State Senator Jorge Cabrera of Hamden had a simple answer this week to all of the concerns surrounding the 2025 health insurance rate increases proposed by Connecticut insurers on nearly 200,000 people and businesses: just pass a “public option” law and let those people buy quality, less-expensive health insurance through the State of Connecticut.

Republicans in Connecticut have firmly opposed such a money-saving public option for years, but Cabrera – who is Senate Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee – says after decades of Connecticut insurers raising health insurance rates on the public year after year, it’s time for an all-new approach.

“I understand insurance company arguments that they’re simply passing along higher pharmacy and hospital costs via premium rate increases onto their customers, but this annual rate review process has sounded like a broken record for several years now,” Cabrera said Tuesday during an Insurance Department public hearing on the rate requests. “Connecticut sets price targets, insurance companies come in way above these targets, the Insurance Department cuts the rate requests in half, but consumers still end up paying more every year. As has been stated, a third of state residents are struggling to pay their medical bills, and nearly half are forgoing medical care because of the high cost.”

“What we need to do is re-double our efforts to pass a public option here in Connecticut, where individuals and businesses can buy into the state’s health insurance plan,” Cabrera said. “We’ve raised several public option bills in recent years, and they’ve all received vehement opposition from Republicans. But the segment of Connecticut’s healthcare consumers who are in these small group and individual markets – about 200,000 people – need another high-quality, affordable health insurance option. And that option is the public option. This should be a priority for the General Assembly in 2025.”

Last week, the Insurance Department held a hearing on the initial proposed health insurance rate filings for the 2025 individual and small group markets. There are 8 filings made by 7 health insurers for plans that currently cover approximately 200,000 people (142,000 individual and 58,000 small group).

The proposed average individual rate request is an 8.3% increase, compared to 12.4% in 2024, and ranges from 7.4% to 12.5%. The proposed average small group rate request is an 11.9% increase, compared to 14.8% in 2024, and ranges from 5.1% to 13.6%.

In general, carriers have attributed the proposed increases to escalating costs trends for prescription drugs and the increased demand for medical services; experience adjustments; Medicaid unwinding; and higher than assumed COVID-19 costs.

Insurance companies received fierce lines of questioning from Connecticut officials, including Assistant Attorney General Thomas Ryan, who said insurance companies are claiming certain costs as seemingly untouchable medical cost increases when in fact those costs are negotiated between insurance companies and hospitals.

“Do you need the state to put a cap in place? Do you need the state to oversee those negotiations?” Ryan asked. “You guys are telling me that you’re not able to negotiate lower costs. … I’ve been here since 2009 and we’ve been talking about it every year, so what needs to change?”

The Insurance Department expects to make final rulings on the proposals in early September. Open enrollment for the 2025 coverage year begins Nov. 1, 2024.

Posted by Lawrence Cook