x
Breaking News
More () »

President’s Fix For Health Care Reform Needs Assist From State Legislature

Thursday President Obama announced that he “fumbled” the launch of his health care reform law. He offered a fix that would let people, who would have otherwise ...

Thursday President Obama announced that he “fumbled” the launch of his health care reform law.

He offered a fix that would let people, who would have otherwise lost their insurance plan, to keep those plans for another year.

However, despite the president’s request, that may not be able to happen in Connecticut because of state statute.

Millions of Americans, including thousands right here in Connecticut, are getting unwanted letters from insurers telling them their plans will be terminated Jan. 1. This is because their existing policies don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act.

“We should allow people that picked plans that were right for them and affordable for them to keep them,” said Republican atate Senate Minority Leader John McKinney of Fairfield.

Sen. McKinney is calling on Gov. Dannel Malloy to get the general assembly into special session immediately.

“Connecticut cannot implement the president’s request that if people like their plans they can keep it,” Sen. McKinney said.

McKinney said a state law passed in 2011 requires Connecticut insurers to strictly comply with the way the Affordable Care Act was written.

Despite the president’s remarks Thursday, nothing can be done until legislative action is taken in Connecticut.

Gov. Malloy is aware of the issue and said his office is in discussions to figure out the right way to move forward.

“We certainly want to make sure that everybody is covered and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that is the case in Connecticut,” he said.

The problem is that the clock is ticking. Jan. 1 is around the corner and this leaves insurance companies scrambling to comply with the president’s request.

Insurance giant Aetna said, “We will need cooperation and expedited approval from state regulators to remove barriers that would make it difficult to make this change in such a short period of time.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out