Proponents of a measure that would create a public option insurance plan for small businesses and nonprofits said Friday that the proposal will be shelved for a third consecutive year because Gov. Ned Lamont threatened not to sign the bill if it passed the General Assembly.
A watered-down version of the public option bill in 2019 but did not come up for a vote in . And a similar proposal raised last year was suspended after the state Capitol shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
鈥淚 am disappointed that Governor Lamont has denied affordable health care options to small businesses and nonprofits, despite the obvious need and overwhelming support from the public,鈥� state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, a key backer of the measure, said in a statement Friday. 鈥淭his is a missed opportunity that will have real life consequences for the small employers in our state that have been pleading for help after taking a massive economic hit from the pandemic. To cast them aside is both a terrible message to send and a severe economic miscalculation.鈥�
News of the bill鈥檚 demise was first reported by the Hartford Courant Friday.
Sen. Matthew Lesser, a Middletown Democrat who is co-chairman of the Insurance Committee, said Lamont expressed opposition to the measure.
鈥淭here was a meeting 鈥� at which the governor鈥檚 folks indicated that the governor does not support a public option,鈥� he said Friday. 鈥淭he message that I received was the governor was not supportive of the bill. Since that conversation, discussions are continuing about what the governor would be prepared to support.
鈥淢y hope is that the governor understands and everyone understands that we鈥檙e in the middle of a health care crisis, and it will be a dereliction of duty for us to adjourn without addressing the affordability of health insurance.鈥�
Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney said that the public option bill had 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� support in his chamber but that it could not move forward without the backing of Lamont and the House.
鈥淲e knew the governor was not disposed toward the bill,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need partners if we鈥檙e going to do this. We need the House and we need the governor.鈥�
Max Reiss, a spokesman for Lamont, did not address remarks about the governor鈥檚 opposition to the bill, saying only: 鈥淭he governor and legislature agree health care is a human right that too many 黑料吃瓜网 families struggle to afford.鈥�
鈥淭he governor is confident we can work across branches and across the aisle to lower the cost of prescription drugs, take full advantage of transformative federal investments, and make coverage more affordable and attainable for as many as residents as possible,鈥� he said.
Lesser and Lembo said talks are ongoing about what type of health reform the legislature might take up before it adjourns on June 9. The public option bill also included an assessment on insurance carriers that would bring in up to $50 million per year to help fund additional subsidies on 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 insurance exchange, Access Health CT. But substantial federal money that the state will receive from President Joe Biden鈥檚 American Rescue Plan 鈥� that already is being used to boost subsidies on the exchange 鈥� has led some to question whether the assessment is needed.
The bill also included an expansion of the state鈥檚 Medicaid program for children and parents from low-income households and pregnant women. But that proposal has since been incorporated into the budget that is under negotiation in the General Assembly.
In April, the legislature鈥檚 Appropriations Committee approved that features $34 million over the biennium to for Medicaid, known as HUSKY A in 黑料吃瓜网. The qualifying limit would rise from 160% to 175% of the federal poverty level.
Lawmakers and Lembo did not say what aspects of the public option bill they hoped to preserve as negotiations continue, but the state-sponsored plan for small businesses and nonprofits will not move forward.
鈥淭he American Rescue Plan is going to make a big difference for a lot of folks in the middle class,鈥� Lesser said. 鈥淏ut I think there is still more work to be done for small businesses, there鈥檚 more work to be done for lower-income folks, and immigrants are still prevented from even purchasing insurance with their own money as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Those are all issues we can and should address.鈥�
The CT Mirror that both the public option bill and a measure proposed by Lamont that would cap annual increases in the cost of prescription drugs had lost momentum and run into trouble with only weeks left in the session. Pfizer raised significant opposition to Lamont鈥檚 proposal and the heads of five major insurance companies issued a statement criticizing the public option bill.
Supporters of the public option expressed disappointment late Friday.
Frances Padilla, president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of 黑料吃瓜网, chided the governor and legislators for not sticking with the measure.
鈥淩esidents need relief from relentless health care bills. 鈥� The governor points to the American Rescue Plan as a solution, but he knows just as well as we do that this is only a temporary and inadequate fix to persistent and systemic problems,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he American Rescue Plan will not help small businesses ?or nonprofits the way a robust public option would. By offering them new choices for affordable, dependable coverage, their employees would benefit from the size and negotiating power of the state employee health plan. Instead, the governor has the backs of insurance CEOs and lobbyists, rather than the backs of small businesses.鈥�