New Haven Independent

Alvarado joined a crowd for a Greater New Haven stop on a statewide “universal health care” tour that began this week.

The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut is organizing the events to preview the outlines of a health care reform plan it will unveil next month at the state Capitol.

Alvarado said that it’s tough times for Latino-owned small businesses in Fair Haven, and the inability of merchants to obtain health care is making it tougher.

“Given the economic conditions we’re facing, [a statewide universal plan] has to happen,” Alvarado said. “It’s something that we need, and we need it desperately.” He said the owners of small Latino businesses, for the most part, can’t afford health coverage for themselves or their employees.

The foundation outlined the broad goals of its upcoming plan for the audience at Hamden Middle School Wednesday night. The plan would make health care more affordable, more available, and more cost-effective over a six-year phase-in period.

The self-employed and workers at not-for-profits and small businesses would be able to buy into an expanded state employees’ insurance plan. Insurance companies would not be allowed to deny coverage based on preexisting conditions, and “excessive” deductibles and copays would be capped. The plan targets both the estimated 325,000 uninsured people in Connecticut as well as the many more underinsured.

Under the plan, anyone who’s happy with his or her private insurance could keep it.

Before the formal event began, foundation President Juan Figueroa laid out the elements of the plan his group is proposing. Click here to read his group’s summary and here for a background story.

Figueroa said the first element is improving health care delivery, including finding a medical home (what he called the 21st century equivalent of a family doctor) for everyone. The foundation seeks as well to use electronic data collection and retrieval for health records.’

The second part focuses on increasing access.

“This is about using the purchasing power and leverage of the state in insuring its employees,” he said, “and opening up that state health insurance pool to, ultimately, the uninsured and small businesses.”

Figueroa acknowledged that the $6 billion hole in the state’s upcoming biennial budget is daunting. “That doesn’t mean people’s health care problems are going to go away,” he said. “In fact, they may get worse.” He predicted costs would be minimal in the first two years. He also argued that with the change of administrations in Washington, D.C., health care will take a higher profile, and Connecticut could be out front in showing the way.

New Havener Cynthia Alford (pictured) showed up to tell her story to the audience.

Speaking beforehand, she said, “I’m a diabetic, been a diabetic for 30 years. And, with working, and now, not working, I know the difference between having health care and not having health care.” She said she’s on disability and Medicare, which doesn’t cover all her medications, so she has to pay for them out of pocket.

At the end of the program, State Sens. Toni Harp and Joe Crisco, plus a number of state representatives from the area, went on stage to sign a pledge to work for universal health care in the upcoming General Assembly session.

The insurance industry, meanwhile, is advocating a slower approach to health care, with a more gradual goal of using some government action to cover some of the currently uninsured. At least that was the message of an Aetna speaker at another health care-themed event Wednesday, at New Haven’s Lawn Club. Click here to read about that.