Quality, accessible coverage and tax relief for municipalities among benefits of proposed Connecticut Healthcare Partnership

HARTFORD—Public service workers like Sharon Hagans of Mansfield and Diana Naimo of Meriden are gearing up for an important legislative hearing on a proposed bill that would "pool" public service workers into a single healthcare plan to reduce costs and expand coverage.

The General Assembly's Labor & Public Employees Committee will hold a public hearing on House Bill 5536, "An Act Establishing The Connecticut Healthcare Partnership," Friday, March 7 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The landmark legislation is designed to cut healthcare costs for municipal workers and achieve tax savings through pooling more insured lives.

Experts hail health insurance pooling as a sensible solution to rising health care costs and diminishing quality of coverage. Front-line workers like Hagans, a public school paraprofessional, and Naimo, an elderly services coordinator, see the idea as critical to Connecticut's economic vitality and the preservation of vital public services.

"Through increased bargaining power, elimination of red tape, and holding the line on brokers' and insurance companies' profits, this legislation would provide paraeducators access to the same or better coverage at a lower cost; both for themselves and for the Boards of Education they work for. Ultimately this means a lower cost to taxpayers," Hagans will testify.

As Naimo will put it, "I am proud of the work I do for Meriden's citizens. But we need the legislature's help to make sure we can continue providing important services to our residents. The Connecticut Healthcare Partnership would affordable healthcare coverage for employees and real tax relief to municipalities."

Quality, accessible coverage and tax relief for municipalities among benefits of proposed Connecticut Healthcare Partnership