Rep. Carter: People over Politics

I have learned to expect disappointment when I hear of budget decisions in Hartford, but we recently reached a new low.

During the last two years our hospitals have been slammed with additional taxes. Hospital taxes were doubled in 2015, and then doubled again for 2016. Now the Governor announced a cut in Medicaid reimbursement of $63.4 million, which is actually a $192 million hit to hospitals due to the loss of Federal matching funds.

So how do Connecticut hospitals recover from an unforeseeable loss of $748 million in two years? One of the consequences will be a roll back of community health programs – specifically those that focus on mental health. Given the fact that we have heard promises over the past few years that mental health would be a priority, I hoped one of the other viable options would be adopted to solve the latest budget crisis, like reducing state spending on labor.

At this point, our best option to restore the funding and responsibly fix the hole in the budget is to have a special session. Unfortunately, the Democrats have rejected our petition for a special session with an accusation that Republicans are grandstanding on the issue. I guess the deflection works, because it has become the standard response when Republicans propose common sense solutions; in fact, I am getting quite used to the majority party in Hartford doing two-steps around important issues.

If grandstanding means pushing for access to healthcare – especially mental health care – for the people in the state who need it most, then so be it. I urge residents to contact Democrat representatives in the area to join the petition, as we need only 12 Democrats and 7 Senators to make it happen. More importantly, I hope residents remember tomorrow the choice (or rather, the excuse) their representatives make today.