Kelly, Hwang: “Health care is not affordable in Connecticut, but there is a better way.”

Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) and Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield), ranking member of the Insurance & Real Estate Committee, released the following statement regarding today’s Healthcare Cost Drivers Forum hosted by the CT Insurance Department, Office of Healthcare Advocate, and Office of Health Strategy:

“We appreciate today’s forum and the many organizations and advocates who came together today. But the timing of today’s forum is frustrating. It comes months after double digit health insurance rate increases were approved. It comes days after a major insurer announced it will be leaving the fully insured small group market. It also comes after years of Republicans pushing for action on health care affordability and facing resistance each and every time. Instead of action months or even years ago, we are here today. Rates continue to go up. Enrollment and carriers continue to decline. And people’s health insurance and care is at risk.

“Affordability is a crisis in our state and crushing health insurance rate increases and rising health care costs only add to that. Health care is not affordable in Connecticut, but there is a better way.

“CT Republicans have long advocated for real, substantive reform and solutions to make quality health care more affordable and accessible to all families. We’ve proposed policies year after year to achieve these shared goals. If we work together and stay focused, we can implement proven solutions. But we must recognize what has failed our state, Democrats must stop blocking common sense solutions, and together we must push for real action.

“Over a decade ago Democrats promised the Affordable Care Act would deliver affordable health care. Since then, health care has only become more unaffordable. Democrats have also pushed for public option government run health plans – even as the state’s venture into a ‘public option’ with the Partnership Plan 2.0 is on the brink of insolvency. The challenges faced by our residents, the historic insurance rate increases, the failure of a state run public option, all these factors must be a wakeup call to our state to pursue common sense and achievable solutions to make health care more affordable for everyone.”

Read the CT Senate Republicans’ “Better Way to a Healthy Connecticut” policy package here.