Health care on the minds of manufacturers group

By New Haven, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The New Haven Manufacturers Association will hold its annual meeting from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Amarante’s Sea Cliff, 62 Cove St., focusing on the issues of rising health care costs and universal health care.

Rob G. Leyden, market leader for Connecticut sales at Shelton-based Health Net of the Northeast Inc., will be the event’s keynote speaker. A Toronto native, Leyden grew up within Canada’s universal health care system and will discuss “Health Insurance for Today’s Employer — Where We Are Now and Where Are We Heading?”

Leyden will discuss the health care proposals being offered by the presidential candidates, and will outline ways companies can keep health care costs down while providing medical coverage to employees.

“Other than payroll, health insurance is now the biggest expense for most companies,” Leyden said in a written statement. “And they are seeing double-digit increases every year. I’ll talk about why that’s happening and what companies can do about it, and I’ll talk about what the presidential candidates are proposing to do about it.”

The annual meeting will begin with cocktails at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact the association’s Executive Director Jerry Clupper at 387-5121 or jerryc@ssicg.com.

The New Haven Manufacturers Association provides workforce development, networking, legislative advocacy and other services to its members, and serves as the voice of the region’s manufacturing industry.