Approved health care proposals take aim at reducing costs

(March 14, 2008) Many of the health care measures approved by the Insurance Committee this week correctly focused at the core reason why people and businesses are struggling to maintain health insurance coverage — its high cost.

Along with improving the quality of health care, that’s how health care reform should be addressed – rather than developing schemes to merely shift health care costs around.

One of the committee-approved proposals would establish a wellness tax credit for small businesses (SB-311) and another would allow for the sale of lower-cost health plans (HB-5709).

Another proposal would allow municipalities to better handle their health care and property tax burdens by permitting them to collaborate together to purchase health insurance (HB-5710). This measure is far more favorable than a Labor Committee-approved proposal that would open the state employee health care plan to municipalities and small businesses — unregulated by Connecticut’s protective health insurance rules (HB-5536).

The state’s small group reforms (including adjusted community rating, guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewability) have protected small businesses from major price hikes and fluctuations that were the norm in the once-volatile market.

CBIA encourages lawmakers to consider HB-5710 a better alternative to the troubling measures in HB-5536.

Another proposal approved by the Insurance Committee (HB-5721) takes a broad view of health care reform and establishes the Healthy Steps Program, which deals with permitting the sale of reduced-mandate products, performing a cost-benefit analysis of mandates as well as establishing business tax credits for providing employees with health insurance.

Cost-drivers
On the other hand, the committee also approved some new health care cost-drivers, including a dependent care coverage mandate (HB-5525) that expands benefits, and other special-coverage mandates.

Most important, the committee did not act upon the “pay or play” health care tax (SB-473), nor did it act on opportunities to dictate the provisions and terms included in the contracts between health insurers and physicians (HB-5446 and SB-173).

Disposing of these proposals early in the session provides much-needed help to the state’s business climate.

For more information, contact CBIA’s Eric George at 860-244-1921 or eric.george@cbia.com.