With jobs the No. 1 concern of the people of Connecticut, lawmakers can help the situation by rejecting measures such as SB-462 — a new, “pay or play” health care tax on employers, the Coalition for a Competitive Connecticut, represented by CBIA and the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, testified to the Labor Committee this week.

While at the present the bill only applies to certain retailers, the state’s overall business community is very concerned about its decidedly anti-business message.

SB-462 sends a contradictory message that while Connecticut is saying it wants a healthy business climate, it is in fact doing just the opposite.

Making that point at the hearing were CBIA members John Milletti of St. Paul Travelers and Leigh Walton of Pitney Bowes, representing two companies that employ tens of thousands of people in Connecticut.

While the companies are not now directly affected by the bill, the speakers said the employers would feel the impact of its consequences — discouraging other businesses from locating and investing in the state.

SB-462 requires affected employers to pay for employee health insurance through a state-run pool if they’re not currently providing coverage that meets standards set by the legislature.

Connecticut employers already bear a huge share of the health care burden and are nationally recognized for employer-sponsored health insurance coverage. On the other hand, Connecticut continues to place near the bottom in the U.S. for its prospects for short- and long-term job growth.

Instead of damaging the state’s business climate by imposing a new tax on businesses, lawmakers should support initiatives to improve the quality of health care and reduce health-benefit costs in Connecticut.

Proponents of the “pay or play” bill also say that it’s aimed at certain larger employers in Connecticut – but the record of similar proposals in the legislature is that advocates really intend it to apply to all employers in Connecticut.

Because rising health care costs are making it more difficult for people in Connecticut to afford coverage, the business community is proposing and supporting a package of measures that would improve the health care system in several ways, such as:

• Flexible health benefits- including the creation of health plans for individuals that provide for catastrophic coverage only, and innovative designs for pharmacy benefits.

• E-medical records and billing -- to prevent duplicative tests and reduce administrative costs, and

• Quality and cost data -- to help consumers make more informed health decisions, including a statewide Physician Report Card.

• Pay for performance practices — to achieve real savings in the health care system and reduce waste by establishing a state initiative related to evidence-based medicine and "pay for performance" systems (in which insurers pay providers if they can prove they are providing quality health care less expensively).

• Health Care Strategy Board — to review state-run health care systems and required insurance benefits in private plans in Connecticut to look for ways to increase access, affordability and quality.

These business-supported ideas have been heard by the legislature's Insurance Committee and await further action.

Two of the recommendations have been included in SB-409. They allow for the creation of individual catastrophic health plans, and reduced-mandate plans for certain part-time and seasonal workers, independent contractors and retired individuals who are unable to obtain insurance through their current or former employer.

The committee approved SB-409 this week, and some of the other business-supported ideas are likely soon to be included in another bill. These would increase health care quality and provide more information for consumers — such as the greater use of electronic billing and data; creation of physicians' report cards; and the posting of the costs of routinely performed procedures in physicians' offices.

For more information, contact CBIA's Eric George at 860-244-1900 or georgee@cbia.com. n