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www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 3, 2019 • Hartford Business Journal 29 OTHER VOICES CT isn't so helpless in face of SEBAC contract By Chris Powell E verybody, including Gov. Ned Lamont, assumes that state government's latest contract with the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition, the infamous work of former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly's Democratic majority, prevents any changes in state government's labor expenses for years to come. That's what the state employee unions want everybody to think, but it's wrong. In fact, state government is only as helpless in the face of the unions as it wants to be. With sufficient political will, state government could simply put the unions out of business by suspending or repealing collec- tive bargaining for state and municipal employee unions and binding arbitration of their contracts. This would be done if Con- necticut's prospects were understood to be desperate enough, and they are about as desperate as they could be short of nuclear war. After all, the public gains nothing from collective bargaining and binding arbitration in government labor rela- tions. Those practices only destroy the public's sovereignty. Any serious pros- pect of curtailing these practices might induce the unions to make concessions. As for the tens of billions of dollars in unfunded pension and benefit liabilities hanging over state government, there is no public interest in providing defined- benefit pensions to state and municipal employees when most taxpayers must rely for their retirements on defined- contribution 401(k) and IRA plans. Even now state government could outlaw defined-benefit pensions for new hires in state and municipal gov- ernment, eliminating substantial ex- pense right away and more every year. Additionally, state government could require its current employees to contribute much more to their pen- sions, the current contribution being small by national standards. Though during his campaign for gov- ernor last year candidate Lamont said he would negotiate concessions with the state employee unions, he has failed to do so. Instead he seeks concessions only from taxpayers, as with highway tolls and expansion of the sales tax. Of course this is because state and municipal government employees are the core of the governor's party, the Democratic Party. While their unions often complain about the supposed concessions they already have made, their costs in wages and benefits nevertheless rise every year, those concessions affecting only the rate of increase in their compensation. Thus, state government has become primarily a pension-and-benefit society for government employees, and only sec- ondarily a mechanism for public services. The supremacy of Connecticut's government employee unions was displayed again when the Hearst newspapers recently reported that state government's new contract with the state police union does a lot more than provide raises. It also nullifies public access to state police personnel records that ordinarily would be avail- able under Connecticut's freedom-of- information law. How can a mere union contract cancel the rights given to the public by state law? It's because another state law specifically subordinates public sovereignty to union contracts this way. It's an outrage that was slipped into statute years ago by the unions and compliant legislators when no one was looking. It conceals wrongdoing. This year the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information asked the General Assembly to repeal the out- rage but the legislature refused even to hold a hearing about it. Nothing can be allowed to get in the way of the pension-and-benefit society. Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. OTHER VOICES Businesses are not asking for a public health insurance option By Tim Phelan L ast week, I was happy to see Connecticut ranked No. 3 nationally in healthcare by U.S. News & World Report. The ranking was based on healthcare access and quality as well as public health. I'm not surprised by the ranking considering the incredible combination of hospitals, health plans and pharma- ceutical companies headquartered here. Last week, I also watched in dis- may as Comptroller Kevin Lembo un- veiled a massive healthcare bill that would include a new government- run insurance program for the state known as a "public option." As president of the Connecticut Re- tail Merchants Association, we watch all bills that can have an impact on businesses, especially retail business. We know when government moves to create a new health insurance pro- gram nothing is free and that often business will get the bill to fund it. While nothing is perfect, we are lucky here in Connect- icut that we have a health insurance marketplace that provides options, and provides consumers and small busi- nesses access to several differ- ent policies to meet their needs and their budget. It makes sense that our state has so many health- insurance options. We are the "Insurance Capital of the World" and that makes the insurance industry more important to our state's economy than it is for any other state. We have tens of thousands of Connecticut residents employed by insurance companies that shop in our stores and provide an im- portant economic lift to our economy. That's why it does not make sense for legislators to turn their backs on this core state industry and pursue a "public option." The state should not be in the business of running a health insurance program for busi- nesses. This is not something that re- tailers or other business owners have been clamoring for and demanding. In fact, it's become more clear that this is a policy idea by activists who are clear that they eventually want a single-payer system for the state. We fear such proposals will result in a destabilized private insurance market and higher taxes. Given the history of government health plans, these fears are well-founded. Just look at the state's municipal partnership plan, which provides health coverage to municipali- ties and has a $10 million current-year deficit, or the government-run health exchange Access Health, which costs $30 million to run. The comptroller promises a 20 percent savings in his plan but estab- lishes no rationale on how that would happen. Some of the bill details are concerning, including a new $10 per member, per month surcharge on individual health insurance policies and a new $5 per member, per month surcharge on group health insurance policies. Plus, it includes adoption of a new individual state mandate with a penalty provision of $695 per adult, or 2.5 percent of their annual income. I wonder whether this is factored into the 20 percent savings? If legislators cre- ate such a plan, the inevitable result will be the erosion of private-sector insurance. The regulatory advan- tages and ability to be subsidized by state tax dollars will provide a huge market advantage for the govern- ment-run plan. We will see a death spiral for private insurance across the state, leaving the government program as the dominant — or only — insur- ance provider. Experts are warning legislators about the negative consequences of a public option. Lawmakers should not rush into enacting a new healthcare system that will have such profound long-term consequences for the state. We are not asking for this. Tim Phelan is the president of the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association. We know when government moves to create a new health insurance program nothing is free and that often business will get the bill to fund it. Opinion & Commentary Chris Powell Tim Phelan