Public Option Health Insurance

March 11, 2019

State Representative Christine Conley (D-Groton, Ledyard) is pleased that a bill she co-sponsored is being discussed by her legislative colleagues and the public.

“Our society fails when most families are just an operation, diagnosis, or emergency room visit away from financial disaster,” said Rep. Conley. “Too many people in our state struggle to obtain quality care at a reasonable price.  The bill under consideration would seek to make health care more accessible and affordable for every Connecticut resident.”

Friday, the Insurance and Real Estate Committee held a public hearing that included House Bill 7267, An Act Concerning Public Options for Health Care in Connecticut. The legislation would offer another option for the public to find affordable, quality health insurance. Provisions of the bill include the following:

  • Establish the ConnectHealth Program, the ConnectHealth Trust Account and the ConnectHealth Advisory Board
  • Require the Comptroller, in consultation with the ConnectHealth Advisory Board and the Office of Health Strategy, to establish the ConnectHealth Plan
  • Modify requirements concerning nonstate public employer enrollment in the state employee plan
  • Expand the variety of plans offered by the Comptroller to nonstate public employers
  • Authorize the Comptroller to offer coverage to small employers

Before the public hearing advocates pointed out that as health care premiums have increased, the number of uninsured has also gone up. “Health care is a right, not a privilege,” said Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz and Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney added that, “Because a public option was not made part of the Affordable Care Act, it falls on the state to rectify the oversight.”

Ten other states are considering a public option.