Connecticut Option, Individual Mandate Proposed For Healthcare

HARTFORD, CT —Democratic state officials unveiled a new healthcare proposal that comes with a “Connecticut Option” for health insurance that could save individuals and small businesses 20 percent in premium costs. It would also institute a statewide individual mandate similar to what was once charged in the Affordable Care Act. The announcement comes with less than two weeks left in the legislative session and inflamed growing tensions between Republicans and Democrats at the capitol.

The Connecticut option would be offered through insurance companies under their own provider networks or through a network developed by the Office of the State comptroller. Insurance companies that serve state employees will also have to provide cost-effective plans through the exchange.

“This is perhaps the most important set of healthcare reforms in America since the Affordable Care Act,” said Sen. Matt Lesser, co-chair of the insurance and real estate committee. “We are going to the mat for seniors struggling with the cost of prescription drugs and for families and small businesses facing rising premiums and sky-high deductibles.”

The Connecticut option would starting 2022 and have costs 20 percent lower than average premiums on the exchange in 2020, according to the proposal.

Legislative Republicans said Thursday they were blindsided by the massive proposal. State Senate Republican leader Len Fasano said they only got the bill through lobbyists Wednesday night.

“That’s the arrogancy of the majority that I’ve never seen in this building, even under [ former Gov. Dannel] Malloy,” Fasano said. “He would at least give us the opportunity before he paraded it out to a press conference.”

The proposal also comes with less than two weeks left in the regular legislative session. Legislators still have to figure out the state budget along with many other bills.

“This is a huge change in healthcare law… there is no public hearing, there is no testimony there is no evidence that this is good or bad,” Fasano said.

State Sen. Kevin Kelly, the top Republican member of the insurance and real estate committee said the new proposal is much larger than one initially proposed at the beginning of the session that would’ve created a public option.

“I’m a ranking member on insurance, I have yet to see Democrat proposal,” Kelly said.

Gov. Ned Lamont along with State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, Democratic senators and representatives have endorsed the bill. Lamont said as a small business owner purchasing health insurance for his employees was costly, but that it helped attract talent. At the time he was competing against big companies like Verizon and AT&T who could purchase health insurance at a lower cost due to their larger pool of employees.

“Providing quality, affordable care is also core to Connecticut’s values and critical to economic growth,” Lamont said. “That’s the same vision I have for Connecticut: create the conditions for families and businesses to succeed by bringing public and private actors together to deliver quality health care that families and small businesses can afford.”

Small businesses and individuals are tired of paying for expensive high deductible plans where they don’t see a dollar of benefit, Lembo said.

“Our businesses, our workforce and our families deserve more, beginning with a health care system driven strictly by the value of care and not the highest prices the market is willing to bear," Lembo said.

The bill would allow the state Office of Health Strategy to monitor health care spending growth and recommend solutions to lower costs. The aim is that transparency will help curb price increases from health care providers, insurance carriers, drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers.

The proposal also has some measures to help people with financial assistance, including subsidies for low-income residents who qualify for federal subsidies and middle class residents who struggle to afford insurance. That part of the plan will be funded through a “responsibility fee” for residents who are able to afford, but choose not to buy health insurance. The fee is similar to what was previously called the individual mandate under the federal government. The federal individual mandate was killed for the 2019 plan year. The individual mandate would raise about $25 million, Lesser said.

Connecticut would join Vermont, Florida and Colorado to petition the federal government to allow Connecticut residents to buy prescription drugs from Canada at heavily reduced costs.

“Americans pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world and it’s time to join states like Florida and Colorado which have said ‘enough is enough,’” said Connecticut AARP State Director Nora Duncan. “AARP supports state legislation that creates a state wholesale importation program to purchase lower-cost drugs from Canada and make them available to state residents through an existing supply chain, with clear and appropriate safeguards in place.”

Also part of the proposal is to add a one cent per milligram tax on prescription opioids to fund Medicaid coverage for parents who lost coverage under the last state budget.