Healthcare Mandates Will Add to Budget Woes

04.01.2016
Issues & Policies

A number of healthcare-related bills approved by the Connecticut legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee this year come with costs that will add to an already hard-pressed state budget.
While CBIA appreciates the committee’s efforts to reduce the number of new, cost-increasing health benefit mandates, many remain in the legislative process (SB 36, SB 37, SB 158, SB 98, HB 5230, HB 5233).
Given the state’s difficult fiscal situation, health benefit mandates are simply an unaffordable proposition.
More mandates means higher costs for the state, and for most small businesses in Connecticut.
A health benefit mandate is a procedure or service that the state requires health insurance carriers offer in individual and smaller employer plans.
The more procedures or services that a health insurance plan is required to include, the higher the cost of the plan.
Considering the state’s already high cost of healthcare, now is certainly not the time to add more mandates.
The state employees’ health plan traditionally adopts whatever health benefit mandates the legislature passes, which means a more costly state employee plan.
And since small businesses help their employees pay for their health insurance, a more expensive plan means higher costs for small businesses.

The bottom line is that more health benefit mandates are unaffordable for the state and smaller employers.

There’s one other consideration: If lawmakers adopt what the U.S. government considers a new mandate, that means it will cost the state even more money because Connecticut will have to pay the bill for those receiving a subsidy through the state’s exchange.
SB 37, SB 158, HB 5230, and HB 5233 seem to fit that description.
Certainly some health benefit mandates are good for public policy or could make sense given their long term cost-benefit. Data is needed to make that determination for any given new mandate.
Connecticut currently ranks in the top states nationally for having the most health benefit mandates.
Given the extensive list of existing procedure or services that insurance carriers must include in their plans it is very costly to add even more.
The bottom line is that more health benefit mandates are unaffordable for the state and smaller employers and should not be adopted by the legislature this year.
Especially now, with several state regulatory initiatives—the State Innovation Model and the Cost Containment Committee--looking to reduce the cost and improve the quality of healthcare, Connecticut state lawmakers should step back from imposing more mandates.


For more information, contact CBIA’s Jennifer Herz (860.970.4404) | @CBIAjherz

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