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March 2, 2021

CBIA calls for audit of state’s health program for municipal workers

HBJ Photo | Steve Laschever CBIA CEO Chris DiPentima.
By Zachary F. Vasile, Journal Inquirer

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) is calling for an independent audit of the state-administered health care program for municipal employees as part of its push against the public-option health insurance proposal advanced by State Comptroller Kevin Lembo.

“It is incumbent on policymakers to address the significant questions surrounding the state-run municipal plan’s fiscal outlook and solvency status, given that it is the model for the public option legislation,” CBIA President and CEO Chris DiPentima said in a statement released Friday. “We make this request in the interests of sound public policy.”

The Connecticut Partnership Plan is designed to give city and town employees the same benefits as most state workers, albeit with a separate risk pool. Supporters of a public option say their initiative — which would allow residents to buy health insurance from a tax-subsidized state plan — uses a similar framework.

The CBIA has clashed with Lembo in recent days over the accuracy of testimony given by the association’s assistant counsel, Wyatt Bosworth, at a public hearing last month before a General Assembly subcommittee.

Citing figures from a report on the Partnership Plan by insurer Brown & Brown, Bosworth told legislators that premiums would need to increase by 18.57% to cover a projected deficit of around $96 million by 2022, while the state has planned for an inadequate 3% increase.

According to the report, from Jan. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2020, the program paid out $1.01 in claims and fees for every $1 it collected in premiums.

In a letter, Lembo said Bosworth’s testimony relied on “erroneous statistics and inaccurate information” concerning the Partnership Program. He also urged the assistant counsel to submit corrections to his earlier statements.

Bosworth subsequently answered Lembo, defending his testimony and arguing that Brown & Brown’s assessment of the Partnership Plan was not substantially different from the data put forward by Lembo’s own office.

Fresh off of electoral victories in November, state Democrats resurrected their previously defeated public-option proposal late last year, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for an additional health care safety net. Lembo has been a major supporter of the proposal, which has been introduced to lawmakers as Senate Bill 842.

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