Turn on the news or open up the paper, and you'll read countless stories about how families and small businesses in Colorado are being hit hard by everything from rising gas prices to home foreclosures to the cost of health care. It seems like every sector of the economy is in trouble except, perhaps, the health care industry and health insurance companies in particular. They've never had it so good.

Everyone knows that individuals and small employers face crushing health insurance costs when they try to buy coverage on their own. But state legislators in Hartford are about to take a simple yet far-reaching step to address the problem.

By allowing municipalities and small businesses to buy into the group plan currently provided to state employees, the recently introduced Connecticut Healthcare Partnership would give working families the clout they need to negotiate a better deal for health insurance.