Lamont unveils plans to reduce cost of health care, cap price of prescription drugs

Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled two proposals Wednesday aimed at reducing the cost of health care – an annual assessment on insurance carriers that would bring in money for additional subsidies on Connecticut’s insurance exchange, known as Access Health CT, and a plan to limit yearly increases in the cost of prescription drugs.

Lamont proposed creating the “Covered Connecticut Program,” in which an annual fee would be levied on insurers, similar to the Health Insurance Tax created under the Affordable Care Act. Congress repealed the federal tax in 2019; the repeal took effect last month.

As part of his new, two-year budget proposal released Wednesday, Lamont recommended reviving a similar tax on insurers that could bring in as much as $50 million annually. The money would be used to support additional subsidies for people who purchase coverage through Access Health CT.

As of last month, about 70% of the roughly 100,000 people who bought their coverage through the exchange in Connecticut received subsidies, such as an advanced premium tax credit, to help pay for their plans. But many others don’t qualify for that aid and can’t afford the monthly premiums, proponents of the tax pointed out.

Read more: https://ctmirror.org/2021/02/10/lamont-unveils-plans-to-reduce-cost-of-health-care-cap-price-of-prescription-drugs/