Connecticut Lawmakers Unlikely To Approve $18B Single-Payer Health System Plan

Connecticut lawmakers "are virtually certain to pull the plug" on a universal health coverage proposal after the nonpartisan state Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated that the plan could cost the state as much as $18 billion annually, the Hartford Courant reports. Under the proposal, which would create a single-payer health system in the state, all state residents ages 65 and younger would be eligible for health insurance. The proposal, which would expand access to health insurance for nearly three million state residents, is awaiting action in the state House and Senate. According to a fiscal analysis of the bill, the proposal would cost $17.7 billion if annual premiums were $6,000 per person, or $11.8 billion if premiums were $4,000 per person. House Speaker James Amann (D) said that because of the projected cost, there is "a very slim hope" that the Legislature would pass universal coverage legislation this year. He said, "There are some ideas that are so unattainable, so far out of reach, that you have to have a reality check." Gov. Jodi Rell (R) has said she does not support the proposal, noting that 94% of state residents already are covered by Medicaid, Medicare and employer-subsidized insurance. Christopher Cooper, Rell's spokesperson, said, "Why would we spend $17 billion when the target we need to hit (the uninsured) is 6% of the population? The price tag is unrealistic. I'm sure that's going to have a chilling effect on the next committee to look at it -- appropriations." State Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams (D) said it is unlikely that the Legislature would be able to resolve concerns regarding the legislation by the end of the session on June 6. Amann said lawmakers would work to increase enrollment in the state's HUSKY health insurance program for children (Keating, Hartford Courant, 4/10).