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COMPTROLLER LEMBO ANNOUNCES CONTINUED GROWTH IN CT PARTNERSHIP PLANFriday, July 12, 2013
Comptroller Kevin Lembo today announced that the CT Partnership Plan has just
entered its second year, providing health benefits and savings to more towns,
cities, boards of education and other public employers in the state.The CT Partnership Plan (established by state law in 2011) was launched last July to allow non-state governments to join the state health plan.
The potential benefits to towns and cities that join the plan include lower administrative costs, state-negotiated discounts on prescription drugs, greater rate stability and quality health coverage.
As of July 1, there are now 2,415 lives in the plan from eight different municipal entities, including Bristol Housing Authority, Griswold (town and school employees), New London (city and school employees), Sprague Board of Education, Union, Valley Council of Governments and Voluntown. Most participating municipalities are saving anywhere from 1 percent to 36 percent on health care.
"The CT Partnership Plan is proving that the state and its towns and cities can achieve great results when we join forces," Lembo said. "The more the CT Partnership Plan grows, the more savings we can achieve for both municipalities and the state. This plan should be only a starting point towards exploring new and innovative ways to collectively operate local and state government more efficiently and affordably."
New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said, "I want to thank Comptroller Lembo for his excellent work with the CT Partnership Plan and working to reduce long-term costs for municipalities. I am proud to have New London be the first city to enter all employees into the plan and I urge other cities to take notice of this plan's benefits and join as well."
Voluntown Superintendent of Schools Adam S. Burrows said a projected 36-percent increase in the cost of health insurance for the school system required excessive cuts throughout their budget proposal for the 2012-2013 school year, but in May 2012 they received information regarding the availability of the CT Partnership Plan.
"The Board of Education, in cooperation with the education association, quickly agreed to make the changeover," Burrows said. "This allowed programs to be restored as well as avoid an excessive increase to the local taxpayer. The Board of Education received a round of applause at the annual town meeting for this display of excellent fiscal responsibility."
The Voluntown Public School System just completed the first year with the CT Partnership Plan.
"It was excellent," Burrows said. "All of the health insurance participants were able to remain with their physicians and the coverage was actually better in some instances. We have now made a smooth transition to our second year with the CT Partnership Plan. The overall cost of the premium for 2013-2014 is actually lower than it was two years ago with another company. The CT Partnership Plan was always very helpful and supportive as a health insurance provider."
For some municipalities, the CT Partnership Plan offers immediate and sizable premium relief. Others were motivated by premium stability because premium increases or decreases are limited to only three percentage points above or below the premium change for the state plan. In other cases, the plan provided better benefits at a price that is substantially lower than the group could find in the open market, Lembo said.
More details about the plan are available online at osc.ct.gov (click on CT Partnership Plan), by calling the Office of the State Comptroller's Healthcare Analysis Unit at6 860-702-3560, or by email at PartnershipPlan@po.state.ct.us.
Lembo thanked the Health Care Cost Containment Committee and its representatives from management and labor for their support of the CT Partnership Plan.