Lawmakers Adopt $19 Million Mandate: Another First for State

With Connecticut grappling with a huge budget crisis, lawmakers passed another health insurance mandate that will cost the state nearly $20 million over its first two years.

If signed into law by Governor Dannel Malloy, HB 5233 is projected by the Department of Insurance to cost the state $9 million in 2017 and an additional $10 million in 2018.

The price tag is high because it’s a new health benefit mandate—and the state is required to pay for it for certain individuals that use the state’s health insurance exchange.

The state also will pay for the benefit for state employees through the state employee’s health plan.

Policymakers pored over the state budget for potential spending cuts as Connecticut struggles to pay for existing services.

It’s troubling to see lawmakers give the green light to new services Connecticut simply cannot afford.

Although new health benefit mandates sound good at face value, they restrict flexibility in plan design while driving up the cost of healthcare for smaller employers as well as fully insured municipalities.

Families in Connecticut already face some of the highest healthcare costs in the nation, and employers—who help their employees pay for health insurance—consider that a major concern.

Connecticut employers responding to a recent CBIA statewide survey ranked healthcare costs among their top three business concerns.

Curiously, since the adoption of Obamacare, it’s believed that no other state has passed a new health benefit mandate as defined under the Affordable Care Act.

This makes Connecticut the first in another area driving up the cost of doing business.

Connecticut state lawmakers must work to find ways to ensure we can afford quality health insurance.

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