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Leading the fight for High-quality, Affordable, and Accessible Healthcare

In Connecticut, we lay claim to a long and proud tradition of protecting our most vulnerable citizens. Even with this legacy, we still have disparities in access to healthcare, and more than 400,000 people in Connecticut have no insurance whatsoever. Although great strides have been made on the federal and state levels recently towards expanding access to healthcare and lowering costs, a great deal remains left to be accomplished. Chris has been on the frontlines of this battle for years, and in Washington, he will work even harder for a fairer system.

A legacy of expanding coverage and lowering costs.

Chris has demonstrated a deep commitment to these goals. He has led the House Democratic caucus in their historic healthcare reform efforts – several of which preceded the national reform bill of 2009. Chris worked to make Connecticut’s Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance programs some of the most robust in the country. Chris has also led the way on a statewide “pooling” plan for health insurance. Passed into law earlier this year, this plan paves the way for municipal employers, and hundreds of non-profit organizations to buy into the state’s healthcare plan. By growing the ranks of healthy policyholders, the pooling plan decreases risk across the board, lowering premiums for employees and lowering costs for employers. The pooling plan helps preserve critical benefits for employees, and helps employers attract and keep employees and invest more money in their businesses instead of premiums. Chris also championed a law that allows public insurance plans to band together and bargain collectively for lower prescription drug costs, which sets an important precedent for similar broad-based cost-containment efforts on the national level. It’s a plan that makes sense, it’s the groundwork for a Connecticut public option, and it’s a plan that Chris is proud of.

Standing with President Obama’s national health reform law.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009 was an historic first step towards universal coverage and real cost containment down the line. Many provisions of the act have already taken effect: insurance companies can no longer cap your lifetime coverage, or deny you coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Further, adult children can now remain on their parents’ insurance plan until the age of 26 – a critical lifeline for many young adults struggling to find a steady job in a down economy. And in the coming years, Chris will work with leadership in Congress to strengthen the provisions of the bill that will lower costs even further – most importantly, the public health insurance option that was passed by the House of Representatives in 2009 but was left out of the final legislation. In 2012 and beyond, Democrats in Congress must stand strong in defense of this historic reform effort – and Chris Donovan is ready to stand with them.

Expanding affordable, quality healthcare access to every American.

Chris believes strongly in the right of every American to enjoy access to affordable, quality healthcare. That’s why Chris is a strong supporter of the late Ted Kennedy’s Medicare for All Act, introduced in 2006 and again in 2007. Medicare is the best, most efficient method of delivering quality healthcare to every American. In addition, he believes that we must allow Medicare to use its bargaining power to negotiate the price of medication with large drug companies, lowering costs and avoiding handing windfall profits to drug companies from the pockets of the middle class and our seniors.

Expanding coverage, increasing access, and lowering the costs of healthcare have been among Chris’ foremost priorities during his time in public office. By working to maintain essential programs like Medicare and Medicaid, implementing provisions of the 2009 health reform bill that will further lower costs and make health insurance a reality for millions more, and continuing to go to bat for consumers in the often-unfair fight against insurance companies, Chris will build on his proud legacy of healthcare advocacy. He views quality, affordable healthcare as a human right, not to be reserved for the privileged and the most fortunate. As your representative in Congress, he will continue to battle for this cause.