State officials, insurers and providers spar over governor’s three‑bill health affordability package

Senators and representatives heard hours of testimony Thursday on the governor’s three‑bill health affordability package as officials, patient advocates, hospitals and doctors debated whether the proposals would lower costs for consumers or destabilize providers.

The package includes: House Bill 6,870, which would limit some drug price increases, allow the Department of Consumer Protection to study and seek FDA permission for a Canadian drug importation program, and let patients apply low‑cost out‑of‑network purchases toward insurance deductibles; House Bill 6,871, which would cap out‑of‑network reimbursements at 240 percent of Medicare beginning in 2027; and Senate Bill 1253, which would allow the Insurance Department to consider the state’s cost growth benchmark and, in limited circumstances, reduce pending premium rate increases by up to two percentage points.

Why it matters: Connecticut officials and patient advocates said Connecticut families are already being priced out of care — citing national and state figures — and argued the package attacks the problem from multiple angles: prescription prices, premiums and out‑of‑network bills. Hospitals, physician groups and some insurers countered the bills would shift costs, worsen staffing shortages and threaten access to care.

"My name is Deidre Gifford, and I'm the commissioner of the Office of Health Strategy," OHS Commissioner Deidre Gifford told the committee, opening the administration's case. Gifford said Connecticut faces acute affordability problems: "10 percent of our residents in Connecticut are burdened by medical debt," she said, and in 2023 "an average family premium was up to $25,500 and the average deductible . . . was $4,000 for a family." She noted that "46 percent of residents report delaying or avoiding care due to cost." Gifford briefly outlined each of the three bills and urged the committee's support.

Prescription drug proposals: DCP Commissioner Brian Capparelli told the panel that sections 1–10 of HB 6,870 would…