Democrats find obstacles to reform start at the top
State Democrats want answers. They demand accountability. Proposals to raise health insurance rates by an average of 20 percent next year have officials across the spectrum apoplectic.
The increases “demand rigorous scrutiny,” said Attorney General William Tong. State Sen. Matt Lesser wants “full public hearings.”
Maybe their investigations will find that the top Democrat in the state has repeatedly put a stop to meaningful health insurance reform.
The story of the failed plan to bring a health insurance public option to Connecticut has been told many times, but it’s instructive anyway. Even in a state where Democrats control all levers of power, the limits of what can be accomplished are severe.
Following the past two election cycles, when Democrats picked up seats in both legislative chambers and many lawmakers declared a public option to be a top priority, the situation seemed ripe for reform. But the governor quashed the idea. He said he was worried about costs, but he was more likely worried that insurance companies would get mad and move to Florida.
It wasn’t an idle threat. The companies might well have lashed out in some way. But the benefits to Connecticut residents from a public option would have outweighed that penalty, and in any event governing in fear of large employers does not make for good policy.
So, here we remain, at the mercy of a system where the CEO of one statebased insurer pulled in $91.2 million in compensation last year even as policy holders continually have to fight for coverage they need and have paid for.
Maybe those Democrats now buy the governor’s logic. That doesn’t explain why so many supported the public option before the governor threatened a veto.
Health insurance increases are just one example of rising costs, many of which are far beyond a governor’s ability to control. It’s not like there’s some switch in Hartford you can pull to bring down gas prices. But there are ways to make a difference.
There was another push for affordability in Connecticut not long ago, and like health care it’s one of the biggest expenses out there. Housing is beyond reach for too many people in Connecticut, including people who’d like to live here and fill our many open jobs but can’t afford our home prices.
Various plans to ease housing affordability were proposed in the General Assembly the past two sessions, though passing them would have been difficult under any circumstances. The suburbs usually get what they want, and they too often don’t want affordable housing.
But it might have helped had the governor shown even the slightest interest in the proposals. Instead, he did nothing.
There are few issues more likely to rile suburbanites than the prospect of real integration, as witnessed by the “Hands Off Our Schools” rallies in 2019 about the mere possibility of collaboration across school districts. That incremental plan, which would not have touched classrooms, was quickly abandoned, and should have been an indication that integrative housing never had a chance, either. And there went the best chance at affordability in Connecticut.
Still, there is the budget. Gov. Ned Lamont came into office with one goal above all others, and that was to get the budget away from its long-running deficits and into better position for the long run, which is to everyone’s benefit. And in that, he seems to have succeeded. Our rainy-day fund is filled to its statutory limit, we’re paying down long-term debt and cutting taxes all while our coffers continue to overflow. Mission accomplished.
But how much credit should the governor get?
According to Pew Charitable Trusts, the state’s budget situation is part of a nationwide trend, where states reported “the largest annual increase in leftover general fund budget dollars in at least the past 21 years.”
Connecticut has a surplus, but so do Georgia, Colorado and nearly every other state. Connecticut could run its operations on its rainy-day fund alone for 86 days, according to Pew, which is impressive until you read that California could go 91 days (and Wyoming for 300). Nearly every state is benefiting from higherthan-expected tax revenue, which is making budget numbers look rosy far into the future.
That doesn’t mean Lamont gets no credit. But it does mean, like inflation, that much of what’s happening is beyond the control of any governor, in any state. And just like inflation, higher-thanexpected tax revenue can turn around with little notice, too.
On affordability issues that need the governor’s support, like health insurance and housing, he’s nowhere to be found. On big-picture questions beyond his control, he’s happy to take credit.
The consolation is that the voters get a say. There’s an election this fall to determine who sits in the governor’s chair for the next four years.
But, then, if a public option and affordable housing are your key issues, you might be out of luck either way.