Insurance companies continue to post record profits, but some politicians have the gall to suggest that it's actually public service workers, not big insurance CEOs, who are making the healthcare system SO expensive. Greenwich multimillionaire and candidate for governor Tom Foley even claims that he could lower the cost of healthcare by 15% if elected to lead Connecticut. Sound too good to be true? It is.
There's no doubt that healthcare is too expensive. But let's be clear: it's public service workers who have supported real plans to lower costs. Connecticut Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley's only plan is to reduce coverage.
But Tom Foley has a bigger megaphone than we do. That's why members of CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 are reaching out to members of the unions in the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) to help spread the truth about best how to lower healthcare costs for all.
Tom Foley announced his plan several weeks ago to reduce costs. It would allow some employers to offer health insurance in name only -- plans that skimp on lots of things that people count on, from mammograms to Autism coverage to prostate screenings to maternity care. Insurance will be cheaper, according to Tom Foley's logic, if it doesn't cover as much -- and if he can cancel contracts for retired and active State employees and gut their families' coverage.
Public service workers, on the other hand, have been fighting for years to lower the cost of healthcare for everyone in Connecticut. At the state level, Connecticut public service workers advocated for a plan (pdf) to lower costs by allowing small businesses, non-profits and municipalities to buy into the high quality, low-cost State Employees' Health Plan. Two versions of the "pooling" bill were passed twice by the legislature, only to be vetoed by Governor M. Jodi Rell.
Thanks to our Union's grassroots efforts, we did finally move the governor to sign legislation this summer that allows municipal and public school employees to join the State's prescription drug benefit plan. The new law will save taxpayers money and improve access to lifesaving medications for more middle class families.
So here's the key difference: public service workers think quality healthcare is important and want to give more people the ability to afford it. Tom Foley doesn't have to have real answers, because he'll always be able to afford coverage. He just has campaign rhetoric. That's why we need to bust the myth that Tom Foley has been perpetuating. His solutions could be hazardous to our health if he is elected next Tuesday.
* More facts and fictions about Connecticut public service workers on pensions and pay.
--This item originally appeared on seiu2001.org
