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Divided testimony as Connecticut committee weighs authorizing multiple-employer health trusts and studying a Connecticut option
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses at the Insurance and Real Estate Committee hearing on March 3, 2025, debated HB 5378, which would allow self‑funded multiple‑employer welfare arrangements (MiWAs) and charge a study of a Connecticut option; business groups urged options to lower small‑employer premiums while advocates warned of insolvency and disparate harms.
The Insurance and Real Estate Committee on March 3 heard sharply divided views on House Bill 5378, a proposal that would open Connecticut to self‑funded multiple‑employer welfare arrangements and require a feasibility study of a state‑run ‘‘Connecticut option.” Business and small‑employer witnesses urged the committee to approve the measure to give small firms more buying power; advocates and consumer groups warned MiWAs risk insolvency and could undercut consumer protections.
“HB 5378 seeks to allow self‑insured multiple‑employer welfare arrangements,” said Gretchen Shugart, a policy analyst at the Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health, who testified in opposition. “The product is not health insurance,” she said, adding that employer‑level medical underwriting could “exacerbate racial and disability‑based inequities.”
Sean Ki…
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