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Connecticut committee hears sharp debate over MEWAs and a state "Connecticut option" study
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses traded sharply opposing views at the Insurance and Real Estate Committee hearing over HB 5378, with business groups and small employers backing association health plans (MEWAs) as an affordability tool and public‑health advocates and the Office of the Health Care Advocate warning of underwriting risks and potential market harm.
The Insurance and Real Estate Committee spent hours on March 3 hearing competing arguments over HB 5378, a bill that would authorize regulated multiple‑employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and require a study of a state‑level “Connecticut option” for health coverage. Business groups and small‑employer advocates told the panel the change could give them the buying power to offer stable, lower‑cost plans. “This legislation is a practical, market‑based solution,” Katie D’Agostino, president and CEO of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, said in testimony supporting the bill.
Opponents warned MEWAs can reproduce the problems that led to past failures: underwriting that prices small employers out of coverage, insolvency risk, and uneven access. “I appreciate the…
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