Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

The health reform battle comes home

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • March 30, 2010
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The battle to pass health-care reform is over. The campaign to explain, defend and sell reform to voters in the run-up to the 2010 election is under way.

Home for the spring recess, members of Connecticut’s Democratic congressional delegation are on the road, led by a senior member who has given up on his own re-election, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd.

Dodd, who was given the fifth of the 22 commemorative pens President Obama used to sign the bill into law last week, headlined a rally in Hartford on Monday and will appear in Groton today and Milford on Wednesday.

“Beginning this year, you cannot preclude a child in Connecticut from getting health-care coverage because of a pre-existing condition,” Dodd said in an appearance with 1st District U.S. Rep. John B. Larson at Capital Community College. “That is a major breakthrough.”

Larson and Dodd, 3-29-10

U.S. Rep. John Larson greets a supporter as Sen. Chris Dodd confers with aide Ryan Drajewicz at a health care event in Hartford Monday (Mark Pazniokas)

Today, Dodd will join U.S. Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District in Groton to explain how the new law will benefit seniors this year and what provisions will phase in over the next four years.

All five members of the state’s House delegation voted for the measure, and Larson and Rosa DeLauro of the 3rd District helped negotiate its final form.

“We’re going to continue to meet with small businessmen and go out and do the talk shows, get on the education bandwagon and just go through it,” said Larson. “It’s a complicated bill.”

Polls released Monday show that Obama and congressional Democrats have not won the post-passage public-relations war, despite some polling gains immediately after last week’s victory.

“Larson and Dodd and Rosa can do all the high-fiving and trash-talking they want,” said Chris Healy, the Republican state chairman. “But it will be interesting to see if the poll numbers come back to where they were after this little blip.”

A new Rasmussen Poll showed that opinions on health care are remaining steady a week after passage, with 54 percent favoring repeal and 42 percent opposed.

A USA Today/ Gallup poll last week showed 49 percent of voters viewed passage as a “good thing” and 40 percent as a “bad thing,” but a new poll Monday showed that 50 percent view it as bad and 47 percent as good.

Larson returned to his Hartford-area district Friday and immediately held a health-care event at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

On Monday, Larson and Dodd addressed an audience that included health-reform advocates, organized labor, small-business owners and a smattering of students. It was part-victory lap, part campaign rally.

Tom Swan, the executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, called passage a proud moment for Connecticut, given the leadership roles played by Dodd, Larson and DeLauro.

“We were the largest delegation in the entire House that everybody voted in favor of this plan,” he said.

“It’s pretty magical, and I still have to pinch myself, that it’s becoming a reality,” said Swan, a long-time advocate of health reform.

Larson, who is the 4th ranking member of the House, said the Democrats’ emphasis this week will be on explaining those parts of the bill that take effect immediately.

They include popular provisions, such as a ban on denial of care for pre-existing conditions, allowing children to remain on their parents’ policies until age 26, and small-business tax credits to off set the cost of health coverage.

“Cherry picking the good things doesn’t get you past the huge shift this will be toward what the Democrats want, which is a single-payer system run by the government,” Healy said. “That’s the Democrats’ end game.”

Larson said Democrats will be trying to convince voters that the health-reform hardly is a government takeover.

“They’ve heard so much misinformation,” Larson said. “It’s been drummed up that it’s a government takeover. Where is this government takeover? What are we taking over? I noticed that all the insurance companies’ stock are up, as a matter of fact.”

Larson said congressional Democrats can sell reform if they continue to get White House support.

“As long as the guy on Pennsylvania Avenue stays out there, he’s the strongest persuader that we have,” Larson said. “He has a way of taking things and boiling them down, so that people get it and they understand. It’s going to be an ongoing effort.”

 

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Education is the cornerstone of democracy
by John J. Petillo

The events of January 6 represent an inflection point for our democracy and, in truth, for our concept of civil society. Much has already been written about the political and cultural tides that swept our nation toward these events —and a real understanding of their significance will not be possible for some time, in part because the reactions and responses to these events are still unfolding as I write.

A rebuttal to ‘A call to save arms’
by Tyler David Gavitt

A response to "A call to save arms: is vaccination really the solution?" published January 25: The aforementioned article, written by Genevieve Diamant, stands to do potentially significant damage to the efforts by the citizens and government of the State of Connecticut to bring under control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Holocaust, history and today’s politics
by Avinoam Patt and Laura Hilton

On January 6 the world watched as domestic terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC.  The pictures seared into our memories of this day are replete with symbols of hatred, racism, and extremism: The Confederate battle flag, the white power hand gesture, and the gallows erected near the Capitol reflecting pool. What many may not have noticed within this sea of white supremacy was the prominence of anti-Semitic images.

Sticker shock
by Eric W. Kuhn

It would award a modest amount to families making less than $203k in the first year of the program, ramping up to as much as $1,800 in year four. On a sliding scale, the money would also go to families making up to $682,000 a year. Really? That's 8.7 times the median household income in America.

Lamont edges close to deal on sports betting. Just don’t ask for odds.
by Mark Pazniokas

Connecticut is close to a deal with the tribes over rights to sports betting.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Education is the cornerstone of democracy
by John J. Petillo

The events of January 6 represent an inflection point for our democracy and, in truth, for our concept of civil society. Much has already been written about the political and cultural tides that swept our nation toward these events —and a real understanding of their significance will not be possible for some time, in part because the reactions and responses to these events are still unfolding as I write.

Opinion A rebuttal to ‘A call to save arms’
by Tyler David Gavitt

A response to "A call to save arms: is vaccination really the solution?" published January 25: The aforementioned article, written by Genevieve Diamant, stands to do potentially significant damage to the efforts by the citizens and government of the State of Connecticut to bring under control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opinion The Holocaust, history and today’s politics
by Avinoam Patt and Laura Hilton

On January 6 the world watched as domestic terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC.  The pictures seared into our memories of this day are replete with symbols of hatred, racism, and extremism: The Confederate battle flag, the white power hand gesture, and the gallows erected near the Capitol reflecting pool. What many may not have noticed within this sea of white supremacy was the prominence of anti-Semitic images.

Opinion Sticker shock
by Eric W. Kuhn

It would award a modest amount to families making less than $203k in the first year of the program, ramping up to as much as $1,800 in year four. On a sliding scale, the money would also go to families making up to $682,000 a year. Really? That's 8.7 times the median household income in America.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO