Cows Yes, Cancer Patients No
Some bills get the veto, other sail right through:
“In this down economy, our dairy farmers had no safety net and were essentially in freefall. I commend the leadership of the General Assembly for their strong endorsement of this bill. The legislation had broad bipartisan support, a testament to the importance and urgency for finding a solution, much sooner rather than later,” Governor Rell said. [...]
According to the state Department of Agriculture, which will administer the quarterly payment program, Connecticut dairy farmers lose about $1 for every gallon of milk they produce. The amount of the payment would be based on how much milk each farm produces and the costs to produce it, such as feed, equipment, fertilizer and fuel. The state payment is intended to help the dairy farmer absorb some of the financial losses.
I used to lose a dollar for each dollar I gave away — but after a short while, I realized that I wasn’t in a very lucrative sector of the economy. Apparently I should have held out for a little longer.
Meanwhile, today on the cutting board:
House Bill 5021, An Act Concerning Wellness Programs and Expansion of Health Insurance Coverage: This bill would have expanded mandated health insurance coverage for individual and group policies in several ways. It would have increased the coverage limit for mandatory ostomy supplies and add mandatory coverage for prosthetics, wigs for hair loss associated with alopecia areata, hearing aids for children between ages 12 and 18 and leukocyte testing for bone marrow transplants. It also prohibited copayments for colonoscopies and required group health insurance policies to offer a health wellness program that provides incentives to participate.
The Governor noted that each of the provisions have merit and would provide additional benefits to people with serious medical conditions, but expressed concern over the significant cost to taxpayers, policyholders and employers in the future. The bill’s mandate would not affect the state health plan until Fiscal Year 2012, but the Governor cited a review by the non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis that indicated “the FY 12 cost of these mandates could be significant.”
“The simple truth is that we cannot afford this bill,” Governor Rell said. “It would be fiscally irresponsible to burden our recovery with these significant future costs.”
So some bad news for leukemia and myeloma patients, as insurers won’t be required to cover the cost of testing for donor matches. Fortunately, the bill passed by a veto-proof margin in the Senate (with a number of Republican yes votes and Democratic no votes), and would make the 2/3 cutoff in the House if three of the four absent votes (all Democrats) vote “aye” on a veto override. And if that doesn’t work, there might still be time to reclassify kids with leukemia as dairy farmers so they can get a little help from the state…
Also vetoed: HB 6502 (the “healthcare for janitors” bill that would remedy the odd situation where the state government’s janitors are the only state employees without health coverage, passed by wide veto-proof majorities), SB 1078 (establishing a Long Island Sound Commission, passed unanimously — so we can observe which Republicans switch their votes when the Governor wags her finger), and SB 1080 (a bill requiring restaurants post calorie counts on their menus, which is short of 101 votes in the House).
And just as a bonus fun item, one quote from the veto message (and I didn’t erase anything from between the two paragraphs):
While the subcommittee would have included the Commissioners of the departments of Correction, Public Safety and Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Governor said, representation from the Office of the Governor is important as well. “True reform requires all stakeholders to be present at the table. This bill is woefully lacking in that regard.
“I also take note, once again, of the size and bureaucracy of state government,” Governor Rell added. “Every year we enact legislation creating more study groups, task forces, boards and commissions. Sadly, far too often there is little attempt to reach consensus without legislation.”
The size of government is too big — but if you wanted to start a new committee, having only four gubernatorial appointments isn’t enough.