Health Insurance News and Comment: First Eliminate Public Servant Health Insurance

The Connecticut legislature has made an attempt to open the state health care plan to others, municipalities, small businesses and nonprofits as described at http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinions/x784972447/.

You can read the article (cited above) for the Connecticut proposal which is a good one. For purposes here, ALL governmental employee plans should be offered to consumers, after all, we're all empowered together right? And if they're not available to all consumers then get rid of them and throw all those employees into the hunt for decent health insurance with the rest of us. Governments don't like that and CT governor doesn't want THAT. Well, Governor Rell of CT is worried. In trying to use the threat (which may prove effective) that the "state's costs" will rise...euphemism for increased taxes, Rell warns against such fairness in health insurance options.

Demands that our governmental employees share in the experience of being "EMPOWERED" to hunt down and pay for their own health insurance is critical in a time when government is working with insurance companies in moving people into less insurance for more price and when we are seeing a phasing out of employer-sponsored health care, this is a no-brainer. The governments of this country are pretty big employers and phasing out the offering of health insurance benefits for those who tout it as a solution should be the first step, not an untouchable, protected, PERK for governmental employees.