State House Majority Leader Chris Donovan came to New Britain yesterday evening to talk about a proposal he has that would provide both lower property taxes and build a plan that could be used to offer good quality health care coverage at an affordable price to businesses and their workers.
The idea is very simple. The state is able to get a low price for a very good health plan for state workers because it is buying for many thousands of people. But Connecticut's 169 cities and towns each have their own separate employee health care plans, so they end up paying more to cover each employee than the state pays - often thousands of dollars more per worker.
So the idea is to let municipalities buy the same health coverage at the same low price that the state pays. This could save massive amounts of money, allowing city and town governments to have lower property taxes.
Rep. Donovan is trying to find out just how much it would save New Britain taxpayers. Council Majority Leader Micheal Trueworthy is working to get information Rep. Donovan needs to calculate what New Britain taxpayers' savings would be.
The New Britain Herald is coming out with an article on Donovan's press event tomorrow. The article is already online. One surprising thing in the article is that, even with the potential for such large taxpayer savings, New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart has precipitously dismissed it out of hand:
Of course, this idea has possibilities that go beyond lowering property taxes.
Specifically, if lower priced, quality health care coverage can be offered to city and town governments, shouldn't it also be offered to businesses and their workers?
If we could let businesses in our state offer their employees a good health plan at potentially less than they are paying now, that would make our state more competitive in the world economy. And it could be a great benefit to small businesses and the self-employed, who are getting crushed by rising health care premiums - if they can afford health care coverage at all. All of this would help businesses to create jobs and for the state economy to grow.
Of course, making sure everyone gets good quality health care coverage is a top priority of mine and I have worked hard to get this done. And I would like to get this done - well, yesterday.
But, if the Donovan plan is approved, the truth is that it would be a major step in this direction. So I hope it is approved in the 2008 legislative session.
The idea is very simple. The state is able to get a low price for a very good health plan for state workers because it is buying for many thousands of people. But Connecticut's 169 cities and towns each have their own separate employee health care plans, so they end up paying more to cover each employee than the state pays - often thousands of dollars more per worker.
So the idea is to let municipalities buy the same health coverage at the same low price that the state pays. This could save massive amounts of money, allowing city and town governments to have lower property taxes.
Rep. Donovan is trying to find out just how much it would save New Britain taxpayers. Council Majority Leader Micheal Trueworthy is working to get information Rep. Donovan needs to calculate what New Britain taxpayers' savings would be.
The New Britain Herald is coming out with an article on Donovan's press event tomorrow. The article is already online. One surprising thing in the article is that, even with the potential for such large taxpayer savings, New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart has precipitously dismissed it out of hand:
But Stewart wasn’t buying it.It is important to find and cut real waste to save taxpayers' money. So, I certainly hope Mayor Stewart changes his mind.
“Donovan can pedal his dog-and-pony show somewhere else. They want AFSCME to control this thing. Well, not here. This is an issue between me and my unions — not Chris Donovan.”
Of course, this idea has possibilities that go beyond lowering property taxes.
Specifically, if lower priced, quality health care coverage can be offered to city and town governments, shouldn't it also be offered to businesses and their workers?
If we could let businesses in our state offer their employees a good health plan at potentially less than they are paying now, that would make our state more competitive in the world economy. And it could be a great benefit to small businesses and the self-employed, who are getting crushed by rising health care premiums - if they can afford health care coverage at all. All of this would help businesses to create jobs and for the state economy to grow.
Of course, making sure everyone gets good quality health care coverage is a top priority of mine and I have worked hard to get this done. And I would like to get this done - well, yesterday.
But, if the Donovan plan is approved, the truth is that it would be a major step in this direction. So I hope it is approved in the 2008 legislative session.
