Democrats Back $200M Healthcare Affordability Plan, Hospital Group Has Concerns

by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie

HARTFORD, CT — Ahead of a planned Human Services Committee vote on Senate Bill 3, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk and Sen. Matt Lesser of Middletown said the bill was critical in preventing tens of thousands of state residents from losing their health care coverage.

Lesser said the bill was Connecticut’s response to cuts at the federal level that had made health care more expensive.

“It protects Medicaid, it lowers the cost of insurance for the middle class, and it protects our hospitals,” he said.

The bill allocates $200 million from the state’s Emergency Federal Response Fund to establish a health care affordability trust fund and establish health care tax credits that will cover families earning up to 600% of the federal poverty level, which is currently $15,960 for an individual and $33,000 for a family of four.

The bill also begins the planning process for Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed Connecticut Option, a state-designated health plan that would provide affordable healthcare options for small business owners and their employees.

In addition, SB3 would establish a Basic Health Program to cover low-income residents who earn too much to qualify for HUSKY, but can’t afford private healthcare through Access Health CT.

Finally, SB3 would prohibit hospitals from billing patients who earn under 200% of the federal poverty level or receive benefits like SNAP of WIC, require hospitals to offer payment plans for patients who do not qualify for financial assistance and create a state-funded program to provide payments to support hospitals, according to Senate Democrats.

“We’re tackling medical debt with the strongest consumer protections anywhere in the country, to make sure that folks aren’t straddled with crippling medical debt,” Lesser said. “

Duff drew a parallel between Connecticut, where he said Democrats were expanding access to affordable healthcare, and Washington, D.C., where the federal government was stripping healthcare from millions.

“When we talk about affordability, they (residents) want us to help bring down costs,” he said. “They want us to find ways we can help them and their families, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with Senate Bill 3.”

State Sen. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton, asks a question during debate on the state budget on June 3, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie

Republican Sen. Jason Perillo of Shelton, the ranking member, disagreed, saying the way to help hospitals was increasing Medicaid reimbursement.

“You don’t do it by piling more people into a government-run health insurance plan, which is exactly where this bill is going.”

Perillo said the Connecticut Option limited people’s choices compared to Medicaid, which allows people to go to any hospital in the state. He added that the emergency fund was short term money and it was a bad decision to use it for an ongoing situation.

“The whole concept is flawed. I don’t think we can even accept the concept of that $200 million,” he said. “The whole bill’s got to get scrapped and we’ve got to start from zero, and Step 1 is paying hospitals appropriately right now, and we don’t and that drives up costs for everybody.”

The Connecticut Hospital Association, in written testimony to the committee, also expressed reservations about SB3.

In a three-page statement, the group stated its opposition to the Connecticut Option and the Basic Health Program, saying the plan did not address the underlying cause of the issue, which is chronic Medicaid underpayment. The bill would have the effect of “adding another layer of complexity to an already strained system,” the association wrote.

The association also expressed concern with some other aspects such as the language exempting surviving spouses from debt incurred from medical services administered to a deceased spouse and a hospital financial assistance program. The group supported a handful of items in the bill, mostly involving data collection on individuals eligible for coverage or exemptions under the federal HR 1 that passed last year.

The committee began debating the bill, item #37 of 45 on its agenda, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, and about an hour later a roll-call vote showed 13 of 20 members in the chamber supporting the measure. The vote remained open for the remainder of the day, though the measures appears likely to pass given that it is a Democratic priority.