As supporters of Sustinet prepare to rally at the State Capitol Wednesday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is adamant that a state-run insurance program will not happen this year.
“If you’re asking do I think this year we could move into a Massachusetts model, the answer is no,” Malloy said Monday.
But he’s not completely rejecting launching a public option in the coming years.
“In some senses we don’t close any door, but we do take definitive steps,” towards pooling health benefits of state employees, municipalities and some nonprofits this year, he said, referring to a deal that was made last week to move parts of the Sustinet plan forward this year.
Also a point of concern for Malloy with the original proposal is the cost. A report by the legislature’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis said the plan could cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year, although SustiNet supporters have disputed the calculations behind it.
Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.
