Health insurance as an industry should not exist. For too long, working people have been taken advantage of by insurance corporations who have no obligation to care about anything other than their bottom lines. And it’s not just people who are hurt by this. Budgets for small businesses and municipalities are becoming more and more strained as they have to pay for insurance for their employees. The system is broken and we know it.

Connecticut is the insurance capital of the world. To take on this industry, we need a Governor with the political courage to do so. For too long we have had one who is not willing to take on tough fights. It’s time to change that.

The solutions:

• Deliver a Real Public Option: Working people deserve more than rhetoric when it comes to health insurance. They deserve a real public option. One that moves us gradually toward a single-payer system. We need to improve the existing state health insurance plan, and slowly start bringing working people onto it; starting with municipal workers, then non-profits, then small businesses. Under this system, we will ensure that people can see the state plan in action and know that it works.

• Invest in Job Training and Preparedness: In the process of taking on the insurance companies, Connecticut may lose some insurance jobs. That’s a reality we must tackle head on. Preemptively investing in job training programs will be essential to ensuring folks are not out of work. This also includes tuition and training assistance for those seeking to enter a new field.