HARTFORD – Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) and Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield) released the following statement regarding double digit health insurance rate hikes approved by the Governor’s administration on Friday and comments made today by Governor Lamont and his administration on health care costs and affordability in Connecticut:
“The Governor’s administration approved double digit rate hikes at a time when working and middle class families are already struggling with crushing inflation. Now the Governor’s administration is talking about ‘shared sacrifice.’ The people of CT have sacrificed enough already. The tone is eerily similar to that of Governor Malloy who handed Connecticut families some of the largest tax increases in state history and forced residents to sacrifice, and continue to sacrifice to this day, when government did not. This year Republicans called on Democrats to return overtaxed dollars to our residents. They said no. In Connecticut when you hear ‘shared sacrifice’ taxpayers should start guarding their wallets.
“We all know Connecticut could have done much more to make health care more affordable. And now the administration wants to talk about it. But why are we waiting for October of an election year to talk when Democrats have held the majority for over a decade and could have done something about it? Instead they rejected our proposal to reduce rates by 30%, and now rates are going up. No matter how the administration downplays the increase, CT families are going to pay more for health insurance because CT Democrats failed to act and blocked common sense achievable solutions that would have reduced health care premiums.
“We applaud the fact that Connecticut finally advanced bipartisan legislation to cap the cost of insulin and adopt health care cost growth benchmarking like Governor Charlie Baker did in Massachusetts. These are real measures and steps forward. But alone they are not enough to make health care affordable. If the Governor is truly committed to delivering affordable, quality health care – a promise that the Affordable Care Act failed to fulfill – we ask that he commit today to working with us to advance a better way to a more affordable and healthy Connecticut. We agree with the Governor that a government run ‘public option’ is not the solution and will only further drive up costs for Connecticut families. But we also need more than a hearing. We need action. We need the Governor to stand up to his Democratic party members who have blocked the very reforms that will make health care more affordable.”
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