As far as who would pay for it, if the medical claims ever exceeded the premium, Lembo said, “What happens is the backstop is the state of Connecticut. I’m not gonna, like, run away from that.” Republican lawmakers also opposed the public option proposal.
“I am mindful that whatever new taxpayer-funded program they want, it will threaten thousands of jobs in the insurance industry and harm the pandemic recovery we all hope for,” incoming Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said. “Considering the latest projection of a $25 million deficiency in the state employee health account and the historical insolvency of the CT Partnership Plan, I’m particularly concerned about another long-term broken promise.”
Incoming Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, said Republicans want to reduce the cost of healthcare just as much as Democrats, they just have a different approach. “What is the primary driver and that is the medical cost,” Kelly said. He said getting that cost down will be the key to lowering health insurance costs across the board. He said Republicans have put forward proposals that would reduce premiums by up to 20%. “But the real difference between the two plans is, frankly, jobs. We have a flagship industry, better known as the insurance industry—we fashion ourselves as the Insurance Capital of the world,” Kelly said. “Democrat leadership wants to go into direct competition with that flagship industry and we would be losing Connecticut jobs.”
Public Option 3.0? Christine Stuart, November 12, 2020, CTNewsJunkie