OPINION: A big problem; a questionable solution
Employers who decide they cannot afford to subsidize the cost of providing health insurance are more vulnerable to good workers leaving, not necessarily for better pay, opportunities or working conditions, but for access to health insurance.
Conversely, an employee may find herself turning down a good opportunity to join a small company -- one that well fits her skill set and could provide great opportunities for growth and promotion -- because the job does not come with a health insurance plan.
In other words, health insurance choices act to distort normal free market forces that otherwise would drive job decisions based on skills, pay and opportunity.
"It is about access to health care, but it is also about economic development and the growth of our small businesses," said Connecticut Comptroller
The lack of a national consensus on how to deal with health care exacerbates the problem.
When in control of
That said, a proposed state solution, promoted by Lembo and touted by some of his fellow
Proceeding in the legislature is a bill that would make
When the Affordable Care Act was first debated the discussion included a public option with the intent that a government alternative would force private insurers to hold down premiums.
Interesting, then, that Lembo states ConnectHealth "would help fix what the ACA has failed to do -- provide a public health plan option."
The logic behind ConnectHealth is that
What, then, are the red flags?
There are reasons
Also of concern is the potential that a lop-sided share of individuals with high-cost health needs could gravitate to ConnectHealth and drive up premiums, spilling over to the cost of providing state employee plans, which could have a big impact on state costs.
Given the state's fragile fiscal health, the state should be risk adverse when it comes to the budget. Gov.
Several other states --
Advocated by Republican state Sen.
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