If you want to cut to the chase:There is a health care rally at the State Capitol on July 7 that will take place rain or shine, veto or sign. Get details and RSVP by clicking here.
Things are moving quickly on health care in 2009 -- especially in Connecticut -- and so I have posted below an abbreviated timeline of events to show how far we've come since January:
The Universal Health Care Foundation's President Juan Figueroa said in a press release Wednesday that passage of both the pooling bill and SustiNet "reduce costs and increase choice."
He said the two bills complement each other and put Connecticut ahead of the pack in the race for federal resources.
"As we begin to craft a national health care reform bill, Connecticut's progress will provide real examples of how important reform is to our nation," US Rep. Chris Murphy said in a press release.
"Few elected leaders ever get such a perfect opportunity to enact major reform," Juan A. Figueroa, president of Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said Saturday in a press release. "The House, the Senate, and the people of Connecticut have delivered one such defining moment to Governor Rell."
[Governor] Rell's spokesman Chris Cooper said Tuesday afternoon in a phone interview that the governor will review the bills in their final form before making a decision. He said Rell has expressed concern about the "hefty price tags" of these bills, but will review them like all legislation she receives.
He said she has 15 days to decide whether or not to sign them.
Lawmakers like Speaker of the House Chris Donovan and Sen. President Donald Williams said the state is already paying a hefty price for health insurance in the state and that these two proposals would help save the state money.
Today is the 10th day since the two health care bills have been delivered to Governor Rell's office. She has until the 15th day -- July 8 -- to do one of the following: (1) Sign SustiNet and/or the Healthcare Partnership Bill; (2) Veto SustiNet and/or the Healthcare Partnership Bill; or (3) take no action and let both SustiNet and the Healthcare Partnership Bill become law.
We have worked long and hard for quality, affordable health care we can all count on, and the clock is ticking for Governor Rell to do the right thing and sign SustiNet and the Healthcare Partnership into law. Join us at the Capitol on Tuesday July 7 to let Governor Rell know that we can't wait for health care reform!
There is still much work to do before we have quality, affordable health care for everyone, such as protecting the public option in national-level health care reform efforts, but your presence at the July 7 rally is critical because our efforts in Connecticut are being closely watched throughout the country. What happens here will have an impact on the national health care reform debate. SustiNet and the Health Care Partnership would put Connecticut in an excellent position relative to other states when it comes time to implement federal reforms.
Disclosure: I am the Online Organizer for Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG)
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