Sen. Kelly Raises Concerns about Insurance Proposal Destabilizing Market

Article as it appeared in the CT Post/CT NewsJunkie

There are now a handful of bills winding their way through the legislative process that call for a public health insurance option.

But none of them go into detail on exactly what a public option would look like or how it would be structured to compete with private health insurance companies.

The Insurance and Real Estate Committee raised a public option as a concept Thursday. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz and Senate President Martin Looney have also introduced legislation.

It was actually former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman who killed the idea of a public option during the 2009 debate on the Affordable Care Act. Lieberman, who once supported a Medicare buy-in for those 55 and older, threatened to filibuster the legislation unless the public option was removed.

Gov. Ned Lamont, who ran against Lieberman in 2006, accused him of “dithering” on the issue in 2009.

Lamont called creating a universal type health care system in Connecticut was an “aspirational goal” given the current fiscal situation. He also rejected the idea of an individual mandate “because I just don’t know if the subsidies and protections for people to make it affordable for them are going to be coming out of this Trump administration. So until we know what those subsidies are, until we know what it would cost people, I think I’m gonna have to wait on that.”

At one time, Connecticut embraced the idea of a public health insurance option, but the proposal — which pre-dated the Affordable Care Act — was watered down every time a fiscal note was released.

In 2009, Connecticut set into motion the ability for the state to create its own public option when it created the Sustinet board of directors. The board ended up figuring out how to run a state-based exchange, and it never moved forward with a public option.

After a hiatus from the issue, legislative leaders seem more willing this year to push for a the debate on the idea of a public option.

There’s also legislation introduced by Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, that would allow small employers to join the state employees health insurance plan. There are a number of questions about how exactly that will happen. There are several plans managed by state Comptroller Kevin Lembo that could be used.

“This is an issue that’s a concern around the country. Connecticut really needs to lead on this,” Sen. Matt Lesser, who co-chairs the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said.

He said small business owners in the legislature, including Cohen and Sen. Alex Bergstein, are leading on this issue.

Rep. Sean Scanlon, the other co-chairman of the committee, said it’s an issue they hear about from small business owners all the time.

“It’s a big concern for everyone in the state,” Scanlon said.

Insurance rates in the small group market and individual markets have continued to increase even after the Affordable Care Act went into effect six years ago.

Lesser said the committee will also be looking at what they can do to lower health insurance premiums overall.

“We’re looking at a number of things we can do to make health care more affordable overall,” Lesser said.

Sen. Kevin Kelly, the ranking Republican member of the committee, said he’s in favor at exploring ways to lower the cost of insurance, but he called a public option is “problematic.” He said if a public option is offered on Connecticut’s exchange would it undermine the private insurance companies, who are also some of the state’s largest employers?

“That’s going to put the state of Connecticut in direct competition with its flagship industry,” Kelly said.

The health insurance industry as they have in the past will oppose “any march toward single-payer,” Susan Halpin, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Health Plans, said.

Kelly said a public option could impact competition “and destabilize the marketplace.” He said he doesn’t know of any other state that has a public option.

While they disagree on a public option, both parties agree they would like Connecticut to apply for a reinsurance waiver with the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

“Reinsurance looks very different in different states,” Lesser said.

He said that’s why the legislature really needs to be part of the conversation “so we can get a program that works for Connecticut.”

Kelly introduced legislation that calls for the state to apply for a reinsurance waiver “to cover claims for certain health benefits under qualified health plans.”

It’s unclear whether Lamont could apply for a waiver without legislative approval.