Healthcare pooling is back

Chris Donovan is persistent.

For years, he has tried to get a healthcare pooling bill passed. Last year, he came so close. The bill got vetoed by the governor. This year, the bill has resurfaced with only small changes.

The bill would open up the state employee healthcare plan to municipalities, small businesses and nonprofits.

Should this be the case, or should only municipalities join together and create their own insurance pool? Will cities and towns save by joining the plan? These are the conversations that are being had behind closed doors, and they are some of the same debates that surfaced last year.

Will Donovan's new gig as House speaker help him when he's trying to convince the governor to sign the pooling bill? He was majority last year, but the bill still didn't make it past Rell.