Connecticut Gubernatorial Candidates on Health Care

Although we do not and cannot take a position in electoral politics, we can and, we believe, should educate you about the candidates' views on health care.

Here's Tom Foley's health care plan. He would create a "core benefits" plan so people who are uninsured would have the most basic of coverage. He places strong emphasis on wellness plans to combat obesity, smoking, and so on. He believes that health quality can be maintained while reducing costs by up to $1 billion. Of particular relevance to our clients, he wants to put all Medicaid recipients, including the disabled, into managed care plans. He wants to move nursing home residents to the community, but does not talk about how he would increase services in the community to meet their needs. Foley opposes federal health care reform and SustiNet. He is in favor of malpractice reform, which he believes would save millions of dollars in health care costs.

Here's Dan Malloy's health care plan. He is in favor of universal health care through both SustiNet and federal health reform. He wants to reduce insurance premiums by creating large purchasing pools that spread the risk -- something the legislature has passed two years in a row, only to see it vetoed by Governor Rell. He would maximize federal reimbursement for health care, and build on the community health center model that has been so successful in our State. He emphasizes ways in which we can make the system more efficient and effective without making it more costly.

If you care about health care, read their proposals for yourself and then decide. If your health matters to you -- and your access to affordable health care for all of us here in Connecticut -- then you owe it to yourself to explore the candidates' positions and then decide. Jennifer