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Address pushes "Connecticut option" and cites drug-switch savings of $15M
Summary
The speaker described rising health-care costs as a major budgetary challenge, credited officials Sean Scanlon and interim OPM secretary Josh Wojcick for work on efficiencies, said switching one brand drug to a generic saved $15 million this year (projected $50 million by year three), and proposed a "Connecticut option" to encourage use of higher-value hospitals.
Unidentified Speaker called accelerating health-care costs "the looming iceberg" for the state budget and outlined staff work to find savings in state and Medicaid plans. He credited Sean Scanlon and interim OPM secretary Josh Wojcick and named Andrea Barton Reeves among those working on efficiencies.
As a concrete example, the speaker said switching a commonly prescribed brand drug for plaque psoriasis to a generic saved the state $15,000,000 this year and could save about $50,000,000 annually by year three. He proposed a "Connecticut option" that would steer state employees, retirees and small businesses toward hospitals that deliver the best value and allow plans with no copays or deductibles for participants who choose high-value providers.
The speaker urged labor, businesses, hospitals and insurers to work together and said the plan would save money for the state while expanding access to affordable care; no legislative language or timeline for the Connecticut option was provided in the address.
