Connecticut’s Partnership 2.0 healthcare plan, the basis for a proposed state-run healthcare plan called the Public Option, has been hiding cost overruns through some creative accounting, according to a new study released by Yankee Institute. […]
Gov. Ned Lamont announced in a press release a new website aimed at helping Connecticut residents navigate the state’s paid family and medical leave program, which is set to being in January of 2021. “No […]
UConn Health Center is facing $114 million loss in revenue after the coronavirus pandemic emptied beds and ended a large number of medical procedures, according to the budget presentation given to the UConn Board of […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has rightly led to high praise and support by lawmakers and state officials for hospitals that face potentially overwhelming numbers of infected patients and for small businesses that have been forced to […]
An employee with the Department of Children and Families has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, according to an email sent today by DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes to all DCF staff members. “We have received […]
Connecticut state auditors listed 59 recommendations in their audit of Veyo, a transportation service contracted by the Department of Social Services to provide Medicaid recipients with rides to and from non-emergency medical appointments. The auditors […]
With session underway, various legislative committees met this week to raise concepts for bills. Many of the concepts are relative to bills we expected to see this session, and were highlighted in last week’s report. […]
The Insurance and Real Estate Committee voted to draft a bill to cap the out-of-pocket costs for insulin, but lawmakers had to contend with the proposed language of the bill which placed a fee on […]
North Carolina recently overhauled its retirement medical benefits for state employees – also known as OPEB – to relieve a growing $34.4 billion debt, according to a new report released by the Manhattan Institute, but […]
A bill proposed by Senate Democrats to place a fee on the manufacturers and distributors of insulin caught much social media attention that led one state senator to post a video on Facebook claiming the […]
The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4th and will adjourn on June 7th. The “long session,” as non-election years are called in Hartford, will be centered around the biennial budget. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. Concerns over energy prices, inflation, and general cost of living continue to dominate the headlines and the threat of a recession hovers over economic forecasts.
What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? What tax reform proposals will there be? What can be done to lower home heating bills? How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements?
While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticut’s government work for its residents.
Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! And that’s why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families.
It’s also imperative that we do so. As we noted in a report and CT Mirror op-ed last year, the debate over whether we’re in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. Our economy has grown at one of the slowest rates in the nation for the past decade, and we are getting outpaced year after year. We’re not attracting innovation and industry. We’re losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where it’s easier to make a living.
But together, we can reverse this trend.
At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive – and with your help, it will be.