Focus on solutions to health care affordability

I attended a hearing in Hartford on Monday, Aug. 15 on the proposed insurance rate hikes of 20 percent or more for the Connecticut Health Exchange in 2023. The increases are unreasonable and untimely for our families and small businesses already struggling with rising prices. I was glad a wide range of elected officials and citizens came together to question this proposal and I agree with the resounding consensus: the proposed rate hikes must be rejected.

Partisan grandstanding should not obstruct the pursuit of affordable health care in Connecticut. One voice out of the dozens offering testimony stood out for doing just this: State Sen. Kevin Kelly from Senate District 21 representing Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford. He used most of his time at the insurance hearing to loudly and repeatedly attack Connecticut Democrats while claiming half-heartedly to want bipartisan solutions.

As his opponent in the race for state Senate this November, I intend to hold Kelly specifically to task for his own voting history and statements. Several of his Republican colleagues were able to make their points without the partisan rancor woven throughout his testimony. I was also disappointed to notice sections of his speech appear to be boilerplate talking points.

To address his actual arguments, Kelly focused on two main drivers of pricing increases: inflation, which is hitting across the world, and the expansion of government insurance, which he views as inferior and costly. According to him, “government-run health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the VA system are not the gold standard.” I am curious how many recipients of these programs would prefer private coverage.

Kelly himself does acknowledge that “Congress did act to pass the Inflation Reduction Act and extend federal health care subsidies for three years.” While he tries to minimize this as temporary, this legislative action is a huge deal. It means that families at median income will save on average $10,660 per year and individuals at median income will save $880 per year on Connecticut’s healthcare exchange over those three years.

Finding a comprehensive solution to affordability in health care in Connecticut is complex. We must hold insurance companies to task for inordinate profits, while also pushing health care providers for pricing transparency, implementing benchmarks and pursuing similar accountability measures for pharmaceuticals. Hospitals should not charge hundreds of dollars for aspirin. Pharmaceutical companies should not raise prices of decades-old generic medications. Insurance companies should not increase rates by double digits in the face of record profits.

This moment also requires pricing transparency in insurance. While the hearing focused heavily on the percent increase in rates, the ratio of these rates to coverage must also be quantified and scrutinized. An erosion of benefits or increase in deductibles is just as damaging to the finances and health of our residents as an increase in premiums, but those shifts can fly under the radar in hearings focused only on rates.

Affordable health care solutions also can be found by increasing competition in limited markets- as in the generic pharmaceutical bill which passed despite Kelly’s opposition. I agree with him that allowing importation of Canadian pharmaceuticals makes sense for the same reason, but I disagree on his push against a public option. It provides a competitive alternative in a limited market where small businesses and individuals do not have many options: a nonprofit public/private partnership that contracts private insurers to manage the plan.

The Insurance Commission must reject these rates and push insurance companies to do their part to keep our state’s health care affordable. The Legislature must also do its part and focus less on partisanship, doom and gloom, and more on finding policy solutions that work for small businesses, families and individuals banking on a healthier and affordable future for our state. If elected, I will work with anyone, regardless of party, who is earnestly invested in working towards a brighter future for Connecticut.