Health legislation must move quickly

As state leaders of their respective political parties, Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Democratic House Speaker James A. Amann have not had many kind words for each other lately. The gubernatorial election is over, but politics never takes a break, and although the governor unveiled a budget that was widely viewed to be full of Democratic ideals, the sniping has continued apace.
One area where there is agreement, though, is the recognition that health care in this state is in trouble, and that the first area to focus on is children’s health care. With polls showing overwhelming majorities in the state putting a priority on expanding state programs to insure more children, action is expected and necessary.
Amann said Monday that legislation to expand coverage to the estimated 70,000 uninsured children in the state should be ready by the end of the month. Any bill would have to negotiate the turbulent waters of committees and hearings in both Assembly chambers and emerge in identical form before it could be sent to the governor for a signature, a process that is never fast-paced. The sooner this gets under way, the faster a program will be put into place. People’s lives depend on it.
Legislators also heard Monday the stories of children with dental problems whose parents were unable to get them proper care because they couldn’t find dentists who could accept their government-subsidized HUSKY health plan. As reimbursement rates have stayed static, costs have skyrocketed, and even well-meaning caregivers are often unable to help. Legislators would do well to remember that dental care is a part of health care, and cavities and tooth decay can have long-lasting, far-reaching effects. It’s not as dramatic as tuberculosis or other much-feared maladies, but oral health is necessary, and too many state children do without it.
But the Assembly must not stop with children. As Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams pointed out, a full 82 percent of the state’s uninsured are adults. No one wants to deny care to children, and it is natural that young people in need take first priority. But children in need often have parents and guardians in need, and preventive care is most often far less expensive than emergency care. In addition to concerns of morality, it benefits the state’s bottom line to have health insurance cover as many people as possible.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2, is joining the fight at the federal level to widen coverage, and all help is welcome. If federal trends continue, there will be fewer and fewer subsidies coming in to help pay for state coverage, and more people will do without. As testimony in Hartford on Monday showed, many people in the state, children and adults, can’t afford to wait any longer.