Can't we think big about Connecticut's hospitals?

Instead of turning to for-profit hospital companies to pump money into a handful of Connecticut's nonprofit hospitals, the state ought to be thinking bigger. What really needs to happen is for the state's nonprofit hospitals to stop competing with each other as if they were all little businesses and instead work together to do the job they were created for: to provide medical care for Connecticut's people. The right models already exist elsewhere in America. Look no further than the Cleveland Clinics or the Mayo Clinic to find regional nonprofits that have created systems that offer top quality care for residents that are so good that people travel to them from across the world to get treatment. Connecticut could follow suit. There's nothing but leadership blocking the way for the state from creating a similar integrated health care network that would pull together community hospitals with sterling medical centers in Hartford and New Haven. I can well understand that little hospitals like the one in Bristol are eyeing a possible buyout by a for-profit provider as one way to survive. But it's not the only option. Can't anybody with some vision at least try to push Connecticut to adopt the most successful health care models in the world before we turn the whole system into just another business? Even the most ardent capitalists understand that health care is different than selling hamburgers.
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City may have to pay "Cadillac tax" on its health care for employees

The health insurance plan the city offers to its employees is so lucrative that it may have “to pay some kind of tax” for providing excessive benefits, according to Board of Finance Vice Chairman John Smith. The so-called “Cadillac tax” is supposed to help the federal government raise money for the subsidies provided by Obamacare for people who can’t afford to cover the tab for required health insurance. “We have to be prepared,” Smith said. Smith said the penalty the city may have to pay could be revised if the legislation is overhauled, but it’s possible the government may be eager to get more money to shore up Obamacare plans given the likelihood that people with major maladies will sign up in greater numbers than healthy adults. Smith said it would be up the city, as the employer, to pay the tax on its lucrative health care package for employees. But, he said, officials will try to negotiate with city unions to try to reduce the impact. At this point, it’s not clear how much the city might be on the hook for.
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Mayor shrugs off criticism, plans to cut ribbon

Mayor Art Ward said today he's been asked by quite a few people to skip the grand opening for the Hospital of Central Connecticu's new facility at the corner of Pine and Middle streets. The ribbon cutting for the big new medical facility is slated for 9 a.m. Wednesday. Bristol Hospital supporters see the new facility as a direct threat to the local institution, which is seeking to sell itself to a for-profit company as part of a long-term plan to expand and renovate. Some have privately called on the mayor to side with Bristol Hospital by shunning the opening ceremony for the competition. But Ward said he's going to attend anyway. He said that whenever a business opens its doors, hires people and boosts Bristol's economy, he feels a responsibility to be there to wish them well. He said it's not his job to pick from among competitors, even when one of them saved his life a few years ago after he choked on a steak sandwich. I'm told, by the way, the new medical facility is quite something, with a lot of high-tech stuff that's not often available in places such as Bristol. I'm sure we'll hear more about it all soon.
Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wright seeks state funding for health care for uninsured

Press release from state Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat:

REP. WRIGHT CO-SPONSORS BILL TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR THE UNINSURED AT COMMUNITY HOSPITALS

State Representative Christopher Wright (D-Bristol) is co-sponsoring a bill that seeks to  fund community hospitals, like Bristol Hospital, that provide services for people who are uninsured.

Rep. Wright has joined legislative colleagues from Vernon and Putnam, to sponsor HB 6004, “An Act Concerning Health Care Services For The Uninsured At Community Hospitals.”

The bill is now before the legislature’s Public Health Committee which received favorable testimony at a recent public hearing.

“This is the beginning of a long legislative process to maintain funding for our community hospitals,” Rep. Wright explained, “The purpose of the bill is to guarantee funding for community hospitals, like our own Bristol Hospital, to help them pay for the vital services they provide for the uninsured.”

“There are certain core values that government needs to protect,” Rep. Wright said, “Among those priorities is healthcare help for our citizens.”

As legislative momentum continues to grow to restore the funding for community hospitals, HB 6004 may serve as the legislative vehicle for that goal.

“It’s necessary to point out this legislation represents an important first step that hopefully will restore the needed funding to our community hospitals who provide these very expensive services to the uninsured,” Rep. Wright said.

Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City plans to tap pension excess

In the coming fiscal year, West Hartford plans to pump $11.7 million into accounts established to pay the pension costs of its municipal retirees.
That’s pretty typical for Connecticut cities and towns the size of Bristol.
But Bristol taxpayers don’t have to put a penny into pension trust funds this year – and haven’t for more than a decade.
The city is perhaps the only one in America that has so much money socked away in its pension trust funds that it can shift some if it into related trusts aimed at paying retirees’ health care costs, experts said. Click here for the full story.

With city pension trust funds at new heights – just a few dollars short of $600 million – officials are ready to resolve a longstanding controversy and tap into excess cash to cover costs for retiree health care.
That’s about $200 million more than experts say the city needs to pay off its anticipated obligation to current and future retirees.
City councilors said this week they want to shift some of that extra money – from accounts designated for police and fire retirees – into another trust fund to pay for health care for retired police and firefighters.
“It’s going to help the city,” said city Councilor David Mills, a first-term Republican.
The comptroller’s office estimates the move would save taxpayers $1.1 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Click here for the full story. [Please note that city Councilor Kevin Fuller told me this morning he is not necessarily going to vote to do this.]

Here is a PDF of city Comptroller Glenn Klocko's presentation about this issue a couple of years ago.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wright backs new healthcare partnership measure

This is a press release from state Rep. Chris Wright, a Bristol Democrat:
REP. WRIGHT WELCOMES INSURANCE COMMITTEE APPROVAL OF HEALTHCARE PARTNERSHIP BILL
Bill Saves Money For Businesses, Municipalities And Increases Health Care Access And Affordability
State Representative Christopher Wright (D-Bristol) says municipalities like Bristol, small businesses and the state can achieve significant cost savings if the Healthcare Partnership bill approved by the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee becomes law.
HB 6308, An Act Establishing The Connecticut Healthcare Partnership, would allow nonstate public employers, municipal-related employers, small business employers and nonprofit employers to join the state employee health plan.
“If the bill becomes law, the measure will provide families and individual workers with the same quality healthcare that state employees have and at an affordable price,” Rep. Wright said. “Participation would be voluntary. Each municipality, small business or nonprofit employer will be able to consider joining the partnership to see if it benefits them and then act accordingly.”
Rep. Wright pointed out that the Healthcare Partnership bill is similar to a drug prescription pooling bill that became law last year and is being considered by several municipalities.
The Healthcare Partnership bill goes next to the Labor and Public Employees Committee for consideration.
Rep. Wright serves on the Housing, Environment and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees.

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Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Hamzy: Rate hikes inevitable following health care changes

Column by state Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78th District includes northwestern Bristol:

Connecticut’s Health Care Reform Balancing Act

I was somewhat amused to read that our federal delegation, including Congressman Chris Murphy, instructed our state Insurance Commissioner to be “vigilant” in reviewing proposed rate increases being requested by health insurance companies as a result of his vote in favor of the healthcare “reform” bill.

Let’s say you run a household with a spouse and two kids.  Children are expensive enough, but now imagine the government mandates that you pay not only their college tuition, but also all their expenses well into their adulthood.  Your likely response?  After the shock and indignation, you start worrying about where the money is going to come from.

That’s analogous to what’s going on with Connecticut health insurers.

Insurers are sizing up so-called healthcare “reform” and its sweeping legal requirement to provide medical care to millions of under-insured people, and actuaries are concluding that – surprise – they will need more money to cover the expected expense surge in the individual health plan market. They cast around for ways to raise those funds and – surprise again– they decide that at least a portion of those new expenses will be paid by the mechanism through which they typically cover expenses: the rates that are charged for individual health plans.

The hue and cry over the proposed increase in rates for individual insurance plans by our Democratic federal delegation, while more than a tad disingenuous, is reminiscent of Capt. Renault’s famous line from Casablanca;  “I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here,’’ Renault says, knowing full well gambling is commonplace at the bar.

Insurance companies are responding to the increased costs imposed by the healthcare “reform” law as businesses do – and as you would in your own household.  Unlike the federal government, these companies function in the real world where costs must be covered, where bills must be paid, and where the law must be followed.  As our government is learning, the real world is sometimes an uncomfortable place where Connecticut citizens have the legal right to expect that insurance companies will keep themselves on sound financial footing as they balance the new federal obligations while providing for the medical needs of millions of Americans.

The calculus is fairly simple: Congress and the President mandate that insurers expand services and provide new services to millions of additional people; insurers know that will cost money and they go out and raise it. Unlike the government, businesses can’t survive with a perpetual deficit.

Some Connecticut insurers are raising their rates for individual plans by single digits, others by more.  Either way, our Democratic federal legislators don’t seem to understand that insurance companies have a legally binding financial responsibility to ensure that the cost of claims incurred is offset by the premiums collected.

On Sept. 23, health insurers in the state will be required to comply with the health care “reform” law passed six months ago that dramatically expanded benefits.  These are wonderful new benefits for Connecticut citizens, but they are not free.  Unfortunately, the healthcare “reform” package approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, did nothing to address the real drivers of healthcare prices: the surging costs of medical care, frivolous lawsuits, and the lack of competition in the healthcare industry. 

Instead of supporting a government takeover of the healthcare industry, our Democratic federal delegation could have provided these benefits by voting for a system which introduced more competition into the system such as expanding Health Savings Accounts and allowing for the purchase of health insurance across state lines and by reforming our legal system to weed out frivolous lawsuits.  But they chose not to do this and now they are reaping what they sowed. 

So their instructions to the state Insurance Commissioner to be “vigilant” is akin to setting fire to a building and then criticizing the fire department for not putting it out in the manner they deemed to be appropriate.

*****
Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Brickley lashed Larson on health care vote

Press release from Ann Brickley, the endorsed Republican congressional candidate in the 1st District:

Brickley Assails Larson Vote to Keep Mandate Requiring All Americans to Purchase Health Insurance

Republican challenger calls on incumbent to explain support of requirement to force all citizens to purchase insurance or face new tax penalties.

Washington, DC – Ann Brickley, the Republican Nominee for the First Congressional District, decried Congressman John Larson’s (D-1st District) recent vote in opposition to a proposal that would have eliminated one of the most onerous aspects of the Health Care Reform initiative that requires all individuals to purchase health insurance coverage.

The call for the repeal of the insurance mandate was under a “motion to recommit” which is a parliamentary procedure used to change bills on the House Floor.  Larson was one of 230 Democrats voting against the measure which was defeated by a vote of  187-230. Brickley pointed out that 21 Democrats did vote in favor of the rolling back the requirement.

“There are certainly many aspects of the Democrats’ health care law that should be rolled back,” Brickley said. “This is probably the most egregious one as it makes every American citizen choose between paying for government-approved health insurance or pay a new tax if they choose not to.”

As Brickley travels throughout the First Congressional District, many individuals, including small business owners have expressed their frustration about the new health care reform law, because it fails to address the primary problem with our national health care system – rising costs.

“The healthcare mandate allows Washington to dictate any private purchase they deem in the best interest of the country…with no restrictions,” Brickley said. “It appears that John Larson and our state’s other congressional representatives want the mandate to remain in place endangering our constitutional rights.  I would like to know why he has put Washington’s legislative demands ahead of what is best for Connecticut’s residents?"

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

MetLife dumped for dental; Anthem gets the nod instead

The Board of Finance last night agreed to drop a proposal to switch the dental provider for city employees to MetLife. After officials took a look at the size of the network that both MetLife and Anthem have in the area, they agreed that Anthem should continue to manage the city's dental plan. That means an extra $90,000 a year in costs.
MetLife had about half as many providers in and around Bristol as Anthem.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol reacts to new health care plan

Take a look at the wide range of opinion on the new health care overhaul in this story. Later today, I'll add the full comments of everybody who wrote their thoughts to me.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Welch opposes new health care overhaul

Press release from Jason Welch, the GOP's state Senate candidate:

Welch for State Senate Addresses Passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act.

BRISTOL, CT – Welch for State Senate released the following statement on passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.

House passage of the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 send the United States in the wrong direction.  Though issues such as preexisting conditions and dropped coverage needed to be addressed, these bills do much more.  They sacrifice the current healthcare system, which works for more than 320 million Americans, and they strike another blow to a struggling economy.  These bills are anti-jobs, anti-economic recovery and anti-elderly.  Moreover, they do nothing to address the true problem facing healthcare -- rising costs.

These bills amount to a $2.5 trillion takeover of the healthcare system. But setting the philosophical arguments of capitalism versus socialism aside, these bills are wholly inappropriate today as they strike another blow to an economy struggling to recover.  These bills:

• Impose 10 years of tax increase for 6 years of alleged benefit;
• Raise taxes on investment income, which is the money that keeps the economy growing and creates jobs;
• Add $750-$2000 in costs per employee on small business, which will result in job losses; and
• Eventually tax union healthcare plans;

These bills also reduce services provided to our elderly through Medicare by reducing funding by more than $500 billion.
 Indeed, these bills do nothing to strike at the heart of the healthcare crisis.  That is these bills do not control rising costs. Without tort reform, doctors will still practice defensive medicine and provide extra services to meet rising standards of care.  In addition, these bills do not address runaway costs associated with overuse of the healthcare system due to HMOs.  Congress ought to have instituted less drastic reforms that address rising costs, such as tort reform, health savings accounts and increased competition across state lines, before instituting its current social experiment.
 Welch disagrees with Senator Colapietro’s comment that “Obama’s plan is better than what we have already.”  Obama’s plan is worse than what we have, and though reform is needed it must make economic sense and focus on reducing healthcare costs.

Jason Welch seeks to be the Republican nominee to the State Senate race for the 31^st District, which includes Bristol, Plainville, Plymouth and parts of Harwinton.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson a key player in pushing health care through

For better or worse, Bristol's congressman was a major factor in the passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul this week. Read the story here.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson hails health care bill passage

Press release from U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol:

LARSON HAILS PASSAGE OF HISTORIC HEALTH CARE BILL

Washington, DC—Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, released the following statement after the passage of health reform legislation.

“Today, this Congress accomplished something that was almost 100 years in the making.  When the President signs this legislation into law, the American people will see clearly whose side this Democratic Caucus is on.  We are standing up to health insurance company abuses and decades of discrimination and mistreatment.  We have lowered the cost of health insurance.  We have lowered the budget deficit.  And, we have improved the quality of health care for all Americans.

“I am so proud to be part of this historic moment along the lines of the passage of Social Security and Medicare.”

Here's what Larson said on the House floor during yesterday's health care debate:
Madame Speaker, I rise on this momentous day in support of this historic legislation.  Just as our predecessors stood up for the American people to pass Social Security and Medicare, today we affirm our commitment to families across this country by passing comprehensive health care reform.  Today, Democrats are once again showing whose side they are on, the side of the American people.
While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle like to focus on those who are against this effort, I’ve heard from too many of my own constituents whose stories exemplify why we need health reform and encouraged me to support this bill.
Constituents like Jody from Bristol.  Jody and her family had to downgrade their health insurance after their premiums jumped 30% in one year.  Just a few months later Jody was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.  After 12 months her medical debt was more than $30,000.  Now, even after she has insurance, she is struggling to pay off the $35,000 in credit card bills her family amassed to pay her health care.
It’s in stories like these, of people facing severe financial difficulty because of medical debt, being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or losing their coverage when they get sick that creates the moral imperative to right these wrongs.  In this bill we will cap out of pocket costs, end discrimination based on pre-existing health conditions, and end the practice of insurance rescissions.
The American people may not like the complicated legal language of the bill or the messy process it takes in Washington to get historic acts accomplished.  But after this bill is signed the parent whose children have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition will be able to get health insurance for them; young adults will no longer have to fear being without coverage because they will be able to stay on their parent’s insurance; seniors will get relief from skyrocketing prescription drug prices; and small businesses will get tax breaks for offering their employees health.
Once this bill is signed, this country will be stronger, the economy will be stronger and the American people will be stronger than ever before.  I thank the Speaker and my Democratic colleagues for their efforts on behalf of the American people and urge my colleagues to support this legislation.  
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson says Dems have health care votes lined up

U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose district includes Bristol, told reporters last night the House Democrats have the votes to pass the health care overhaul bill by Friday. See the story in Politico.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Lieberman's go-it-alone health care stance draws praise from GOP, criticism from Democrats

In blue collar Connecticut, where U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman found the support he needed to secure reelection three years ago, Republicans are hailing the senator’s battle against the Democrats’ proposed health care overhaul.
Democrats, though, are increasingly disheartened – even disgusted – with their party’s former vice presidential standard-bearer.
“Joe Lieberman has broken every promise he made to get re-elected,” said Allen Marko, a former City Council candidate.
He said Lieberman lied about backing a Democrat for president, lied about the Iraq War and is now breaking another promise to pass health care reform.
“It's all about Joe and what will get him the spotlight. And when it isn't, it’s about protecting the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry, two of his biggest financial supporters,” Marko said.
But GOP activists said they strongly support the junior senator’s bid to block a public option for health care.
“Not only do I approve of Sen. Lieberman's intent to filibuster, I'd be his water carrier if I could,” said Mary Alford, this year’s unsuccessful Republican mayoral contender.
Republican city Councilor Ken Cockayne, who opposes the public option idea, said, “Joe has always been willing to stand up for what he believes even if it means standing alone.”
“Health care reform is necessary, but the plan being proposed is over reaching considerably and Joe knows this,” said Cockayne, an insurance seller. “If their motivation is truly to promote competition and to bring prices down, there are many other alternatives to be tried first.”
David Mills, a new GOP city councilor, said, “This is too big a topic and too expensive to have it forced through the process because some people want another government program.”
“There are so many inefficiencies in government run programs. What makes anyone think that this will be different?” Mills said.
Former Mayor William Stortz, a Republican, said, “One has to give Sen. Lieberman credit for having the courage of his convictions. He has access to more information than most of us, and obviously is not comfortable with what is being proposed.”
Stortz said he has many questions about the plan and is sure others do, too.
“I am happy that the senator is trying to get the legislation out in the open and also to have it more reflect what the people want,” Stortz said.
“We cry for more non-partisan behavior, yet when it happens as it is in this case, the individuals are castigated. As I see it, Sen. Lieberman is still playing by the rules of the Senate,” Stortz said.
Lieberman has said he backs health care reform, but opposes a public option that would include government-run health care for some Americans who choose it.
Democrats who back the public option, including Sen. Chris Dodd and U.S. Reps. John Larson and Chris Murphy, said it’s vital to the plan because it will hold insurance rates down.
Dodd said he hasn’t talked with Lieberman about the issue.
“Joe makes up his own mind,” Dodd said. “We disagree on this one.”
“Joe has said it’s a matter of conscience,” said Larson. “Everybody has to follow their own conscience.”
Dodd said no one has said Lieberman should be ousted from the Democratic caucus over the issue.
“This isn’t about where Joe stands or I stand,” said Dodd. “This is a very important issue.”
People are worried about whether they can hang on to their job or their home, or whether they’ll have health care when they get sick, said Dodd, not about political disputes.
“Most people in this state have little or no interest in that,” said Dodd.
Larson said it’s also important to look at the impact the legislation would have on so many people.
“I think a public option’s what makes the bill,” said Larson. “It provides the competition.”
Former city Councilor Craig Minor, a Democrat, said it is obvious that Lieberman’s “real concern is for insurance industry profits, not sick and dying Americans.”
“Decreased premiums means decreased profit for the insurance industry,” Minor said.
“Those leeches will always demand their quart of blood from the sick and dying,” Minor said. “Thanks for standing up for us, Joe!”
Alford said that free competition “will bring those premiums down a lot faster than anything else” that anyone can do.
“Washington should not be in the business of being in business,” she said. “They can't manage the job description they have and they want us to trust them with health decisions? Laughable.
So I say, go for it Sen. Lieberman. Fight that good fight.”

To see more comments about Lieberman’s stance, please continue reading:

Mary Alford

Not only do I approve of Sen. Lieberman's intent to filibuster, I'd be his water carrier if I could .
This whole "debate" is not about health care but about power and control over every aspect of our lives. Our so-called leaders are voting on something most of them haven't even read and something they didn't write.
Public "option" is nothing of the sort. In the fine print, as it were, are requirements for the purchase of insurance with resulting heavy financial penalties for failure to do so. Nowhere in our Constitution does it give the Federal Government the power to demand that any citizen buy anything. This is so far out of their purview it's ridiculous. Add to that the fact that every single thing they try to run they run into the ground and you have a recipe for disaster, at our expense.
Take a look at Oregon and Massachusetts. Disasters - both of them - and yet Washington wants us to believe that they have somehow managed, in all of their infinite wisdom and knowledge, to figure out how to do this on a national level. Can anyone say Canada? Americans are not going to Canada for medical care but countless Canadians are coming here to get the care they would have to wait too long for in their own country.
Just a thought. How about trying tort reform and opening state borders for insurance sales?
Competition in a free market society will bring those premiums down a lot faster than anything else. Washington should not be in the business of being in business. They can't manage the job description they have and they want us to trust them with health decisions? Laughable.
So I say, go for it Sen. Lieberman. Fight that good fight. I'm with ya.

David Mills

I do believe there needs to be reform in health care. However, I do not believe the public option is necessarey to get the cost of insurance down. The Democratic controlled Congress is trying to ram this health bill down our throats and they have not read the bill and are not representing their constituants desires. Most people do not want the public option.
This being said, I believe Senator Lieberman is following the interests of the people of the state and is telling the Congress where he stands. He is not looking for a "Sweetheart" deal from the leadership and is acting in our best interest.
I realize his position is controversial. However, this is too big a topic and too expensive to have it forced through the process because some people want another Government program. There are so many ineffeciencies in goivernment run programs. What makes anyone think that this will be different?

Craig Minor

If you analyze the closing comment in his Hartford Courant op-ed piece, it’s obvious that his real concern is for insurance industry profits, not sick and dying Americans. “A new public option will likely increase premiums for the 170 million Americans who already have private insurance…” Hmm…will “likely increase premiums”. Why is that? Shouldn’t more competition DECREASE the cost of premiums? Oh, of course…because decreased premiums means decreased profit for the insurance industry. Those leeches will ALWAYS demand their quart of blood from the sick and dying. Thanks for standing up for us, Joe!

William Stortz

One has to give Senator Lieberman for having the courage of his convictions. He has access to more information than most of us, and obviously is not comfortable with what is being proposed. I too have questions, as do many others I am sure, and I am happy that the Senator is trying to get the legislation out in the open and also to have it more reflect what the people want.
We cry for more non-partisan behavior, yet when it happens as it is in this case, the individual(s) are castigated. As I see it, Senator Lieberman is still playing by the rules of the Senate.
I say give the Senator credit, put it all on the table, LISTEN to the people and then vote. In our government, a democracy, the majority stills rules.
Keep at it Senator!

Ken Cockayne

Joe has always been willing to stand up for what he believes even if it means standing alone. I respect him a lot for the stances he takes even though I might not always agree with him.
As far as his stance on this issue, I believe he is correct. Health care reform is necessary, but the plan being proposed is over reaching considerably and Joe knows this. If their motivation is truly to promote competition and to bring prices down, there are many other alternatives to be tried first, like allowing purchases of health insurance across state borders. Lifting some of these regulations will promote more competition then a public option and would not cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. There are also others, mandates on insurance carriers are very costly and I believe some are unnecessary. Many of these mandates do not allow coverage’s to be tailored to the individual or the group.

Allen Marko

Joe Lieberman has broken every promise he made to get re-elected:
I will work to get a Democrat in the White House - supported McCain.
Nobody wants the war in Iraq to end more than I do - Tried to spread it to Iran.
Now he has broken another - I represent the best chance to pass health care reform.
It's all about Joe and what will get him the spotlight. And when it isn't, it’s about protecting the health insurance and pharmaceutical industry, two of his biggest financial supporters.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

How health care measure might pass

We all know that U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut's independent-minded junior senator, has declared that he will side with Republicans in trying to filibuster the proposed health care bill because it contains a public option. For Lieberman, it's a matter of conscience.

Without Lieberman or some Republicans, the Democrats simply can't muster the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster.

But that may not matter.

U.S. Rep. John Larson, an East Hartford Democrat who is the fourth-ranking leader in the House, said today that maybe Americans need a filibuster in the Senate so they can focus on the issue and see where they stand.

He said he hopes the majority, who want passage, can prevail.

But if they can't, there is another way.

Larson said senators who back the health care plan need to do whatever they must to pass something so the bill can go to a conference committee where Senate and House members will hash out a joint measure.

"Get the bill to conference," Larson said.

What happens to the bill that emerges from conference is what really matters. And the Senate rules don't allow filibusters on measures coming out of conference, so a bare majority can prevail.

That means, to put it baldly, that if the Senate strips out the public option in order to secure the bill's passage -- something Lieberman would likely vote for -- the conference committee can put the public option back in.

Larson said that with the president backing it and four of the five congressional committees that studied the proposal endorsing it, the public option is a pretty good bet to emerge as part of the final bill.

"The public option is what makes the bill," Larson said. "It provides the competition."

You don't have to be a political insider to see how this is going to play out.

A health care plan with a public option is likely to emerge from Congress within a few months.

For Larson, that's a necessity.

"This is an economic and health care Katrina. The system's broke," Larson said.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Live with Larson, Part IV

Larson said there's a need for reform.
"These reforms are tough," he said.
He said "it would turn your stomach" to see all the money marshalled in Washington in the effort to kill health care reform.
But it's crucial.
Now he's opening it up to questions.

Q: Asking that Larson consider the rail option instead of busway...
Larson -- "The benefits are terrific," he said.
He said he wants to avoid turf wars "and then nothing gets done."
He said he talks with Rep. Murphy all the time about transporation issues. He said it's important to integrate "all of Connecticut" with air, buses and rail and more.
Larson said he saw an old Red Book for the state that showed Connecticut connected by rail in 1877.
"We were better connected by rail in 1877 than we are by highways" now, Larson said.
"I don't wan to throw the New Britain busway under the bus," Larson said.

Q: Federal employees and Congress included under new health care bill..
Larson: "If you like your insurance you can keep it," he said. He said most people will keep their own insurance.
In the program, how many of the 320 million will use government option? Maybe 10 million.
"But isn't it interesting that just the prospect of competition ... drops the cost by $100 million."
Premiums for health care "have been ratcheting up" annually, he said. With an exchange opening where the playing field is level, Larson said, is that people without insurance will pick a private insurer.
"Where' the marketing force" for the public option, Larson asked.
There is a lot of money out there to be saved, the congressman said. He said that insurers will drop prices dramatically to bring in more customers once the public option exists.
"Creating this kind of environment is the only tool that we have to wring out and squeeze out the inefficiencies that exist," Larson said.
He said that we learned last September "what happens when there is no governmental oversight," Larson said.
And now people on Wall Street are talking about doing the same thing for insurance, he said.

Q: Workforce boards... we're living on fumes of stimulus cash...

Larson: We keep imploring state and legislature to use the money that's been allocated.
"You've got to be able to get this money out the door," Larson said.

Q: Bus and rail on table. But only room for one.

Larson: "We'll do everything that we can," he said.
"You're asking a whole other region to give up something that's been in place," Larson said. "We're going to work hard to make it possible for both to come to fruition."
Possible to have rail and road in same right of way.
"The hurdle has been the federal government?"

Mike NIcastro said there is a subsid for busway.

"We'll have to continue to work on that," Larson said.
He said officials have been trying to get light rail from New Haven to Springfield.
"I don't think you can pit one constiuency against another," Larson said. It's best to row in the same direction "in the best interest of not only Bristol but also the state of Connecticut" and the entire district.

Q: from Jill FItzgerald -- how is busway going to help environmentally when fuel is so costly and congestion growing.

Larson said that fuel cells made in Connecticut may work for the buses. "That is the optimim fuel that we're going to use,"
He said he's bringing T. Boone Pickens to Goodwin College in a few weeks, a big proponent of new energy technology.
Larson said that fuel cell bus "is teh cleanest thing" possible.
He said"why not work together" and try for both busway and rail? Axing the busway doesn't necessarily mean that the money will shift to rail.
"There's a lot to be weighed," Larson said.
He said something needs to be done and he's happy to keep working with the community.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Live with Larson, part III

This Saturday, the first leg of health care reform "will provide the key safety net," Larson said.
"We created history. It's great that this is a historic moment," he said.
"This is a national security issue," Larson said.
Disease "has no borders" and with the global economy that keeps shrinking the world, he said. The planes and boats and ships bring "the perils of a shrinking world" by carrying problems quickly everywhere.'
"Our system is broken," Larson said, with spending twice as high as any other country while 47 million have no insurance.
Investing in information infrastructure alone would save $700 billion over a decade, he said.
The new bill's costs will be covered by savings in standardization in forms and information reform, Larson said.
"When facing a national security problem, a person security problem and seeing what's available for us to attain and bend the curive, bring the cost back down and provide for all Americans access to health care and at the same time reform our health care system, it was long overdue," Larson said.
He said it is not a perfect bill, but "we're a democracy" and everyplace has different interests.
"Yet this had to be done," Larson said.
Not OK to say that tens of millions of fellow citizens should live without health insurance, he said.
How can we "not look home at our own fellow Americans" while spending money all over the world, he said.
"We have an economic Katrina," Larson said. "We cannot sit idly and let that happen."
Pre-existing conditions would no longer bar policy coverage. Costs out of pocket "will be capped" and "we will provide competition," Larson said.
There will be an opportunity for people to purchase insurance for "low-cost rates," Larson said.
"Not all insurance companies were opposed to a public option," he said. Some recognized there are 47 million more customers "waiting for them."
They want to ensure there is "a level playing field," Larson said.
He said he is astounded by those who say to keep government out of their health care while they have Medicare or TriCare, which are government programs.
With so big a problem "you'd think we would all have an oar in the water and rowing together," Larson said.
He said there are so many innovations coming down the pike.
"Coming and seeking and aiding one another" is an American tradition of the commonweal, he said. "We have to pull together as a nation."
It's crucial to provide primary care for all, that we have a system "that will secure the health and well-being of our people," Larson said.
It's a way to create jobs and promote more innovation, he said. It's crucial to create jobs with technology that can be sold around the world.
"There is not one of you in this audience who doesn't know somebody who was denied coverage, who lost coverage" or faced bankruptcy because of health care bills, Larson said.
People who get sick shouldn't have to face the choice of their homes and their health, he said.
"The time to act is now. We cannot postpone it into the future," Larson said.
He said the country has to focus on education, too, including community colleges.
"We get there by investing in American people," business and technology, Larson said. He said the country needs to invest in its manufacturing, education and more.
He said the health care measure "is far from perfect. It is far from optimal. But we will get there," the congressman said.
He said "the constant input" that Congress gets from everyday Americans makes a difference.



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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Health care plan necessary, Larson argues

U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, issued this today:

LARSON STATEMENT ON HISTORIC HEALTH CARE DEBATE

Washington, DC -- Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives during historic debate on America’s Affordable Health Choices Act. (As prepared for delivery.)

“The growth of the nation cannot be achieved without caring for the health of all its citizens. 36 million Americans await our action on the House floor today. 36 million Americans watched as the fear-mongers stood on the steps of our Capitol this week, telling them to be afraid. They tried to spread the same fear in the struggle for Social Security and Medicare. It did not stop us then and it will not stop us now.

“Today, we will put a stop to the fear and address the real threat, the real danger the American people face: the woman next to you on the train spreading the flu because she couldn’t afford to see a doctor; the little boy in the sandbox with your child whose parents couldn’t afford his vaccinations; and – if we’ve learned anything from the H1N1 epidemic – the billions of dollars these public health emergencies cost us.

“On this historic day, this Congress will pass a bill that will improve the fiscal and physical health of the entire nation by improving the health of all our citizens. It is a statement of our values. It is testimony to how we care for our fellow citizens. It is at the very core of all that America stands for and why we came here to serve.

“36 million Americans deserve nothing less!”

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City leaders hail lawmakers' decision to bury UConn hospital plan

City leaders cheered the demise of a plan Friday that would have erected a new hospital in Farmington that might have undercut Bristol Hospital.
The proposed $500 million replacement for the University of Connecticut’s John Dempsey Hospital "would have clobbered Bristol Hospital," said state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat.
“The last thing Bristol needs is to lose its hospital,” said state Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat.
Critics of the joint plan by UConn and Hartford Hospital said a new hospital would be too expensive and would likely draw some patients away from Bristol.
Bristol Hospital President Kurt Barwis said, “My concern is the direct impact on Bristol.”
Colapietro said that in a Democratic caucus Thursday "probably 85 percent" of the lawmakers said they opposed spending even $5 million on the project.
"It's dead," Colapietro said.
Barwis said that while the plan is dead for this year, it could always return.
“I don’t think that this is going to go away,” Barwis said.
State Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose district includes northwestern Bristol, said he’s pleased the plan died.
But, he said, “we can’t maintain the status quo over at UConn. We have to come up with a plan that’s mutually beneficial to the other hospitals in the area.”
“It’s almost like this plan had to fail in order to get people focused on a better plan. So we just go from there,” Hamzy said.
Hamzy said it’s important now to “switch gears and come up with a plan” that works for everyone.
“We have to do it,” Hamzy said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
Nicastro said the wide opposition in the Senate doomed this year’s plan. He said many legislators come from areas served by community hospitals and they were concerned about the impact statewide.
“It was way too much money,” Nicastro said. “This is just not the time to even consider that.”
Colapietro said the decision will surely shock the university's backers.
"They are used to running roughshod over the legislature," Colapietro said. "But now we have a new generation" that's more skeptical of its big money requests, he said.
“We don’t have that kind of money. We’re fighting to stay afloat,” Nicastro said.
Barwis said there hasn’t been a serious look at the cost of the proposal on health care or on community hospitals in the region.
He said that Bristol’s legislators really came through.
“I can’t say enough about our local delegation. Sen. Colapietro and all of our local delegation have been absolutely phenomenal,” Barwis said.
Colapietro “stayed solid with us” and helped ensure the demise of the UConn hospital plan, Barwis said.
Nicastro said that promoters of the project sealed its fate because the way they pushed it “was wrong” and counterproductive.
Barwis said he agrees the medical school needs more support and expressed the hope that a new hospital could be built in Hartford instead, a city that needs a jolt of development.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com