A Democratic proposal to create an affordable health insurance trust fund for Connecticut residents has won the approval of a key legislative committee.
“We are setting up a basic health plan to ensure that low-income residents can get affordable health insurance and that the president doesn’t have the ability to take that away,” Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) said, the co-chair of the Human Services Committee.
The trust fund would enable continued coverage for tens of thousands of low-income state residents who lost their Husky Medicaid coverage this year due to President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, passed by Congressional Republicans.
Republicans voted against the bill.
“All we are doing is moving more people to a government-run health insurance plan, which historically has under-reimbursed providers,” Senator Jason Perillo (R-Shelton) said, the ranking Senate Republican on the committee.
He said the Democrats are creating yet another government program aimed at killing the private health insurance market, noting that the Connecticut Hospital Association does not support the proposal.
The bill creates the Connecticut Health Insurance Trust Fund by using $200 million from money left over from the state’s $500 million emergency contingency fund that lawmakers created last fall to backstop federal cuts to safety net programs.
It also addresses medical debt and hospital financial assistance, as well as shortening the time allowed for health insurance companies to review and authorize medically necessary care.
