WEEKLY UPDATE: 03/05/26
On March 3, 2026, the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) testified before the Insurance and Real Estate Committee on a proposal that would direct a state feasibility study related to a “Connecticut Option” health program and authorize self-funded Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) in Connecticut, as defined in HB 5378, An Act Concerning Self-Funded Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements And Requiring A Study Of The Feasibility Of Establishing The Connecticut Option Program and Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements.
CHA voiced strong opposition to the inclusion of a “Connecticut Option” government-run health plan study, and shared support for appropriately structured and responsibly regulated MEWAs, arrangements that allow multiple, usually smaller, employers to pool resources to offer health benefits.
CHA raised several concerns about a proposed “Connecticut Option” program regarding potential impacts on provider reimbursement, access to care, and the stability of Connecticut’s healthcare delivery system.
“Although framed as exploratory, such studies frequently serve as precursors to rate-setting or reimbursement caps tied to Medicare or other benchmarks, which can be detrimental to patients — harming affordability and access to care,” CHA’s Senior Vice President of Policy Paul Kidwell testified.
Hospitals in Connecticut are already operating under thin margins and enduring significant losses from government payers – facing nearly $3 billion in Medicaid and Medicare losses annually. Further downward pressure on commercial reimbursement would further destabilize the system.
A state-run “public option” health insurance plan would rely on narrow provider networks, reducing patient choice and limiting where patients can go for care — a step CHA warned could undermine access. It would also be backstopped by taxpayers at a time when families are already struggling with rising costs everywhere they turn.
CHA argued that true affordability efforts should strengthen what works in the state’s nationally recognized healthcare delivery system and address systemic issues such as Medicaid and Medicare underpayment, rather than create new government-run structures that risk repeating known challenges.
To learn more about why a government-controlled insurance plan would strain healthcare access and affordability, view the CHA fact sheet on the issue here.
Read CHA’s testimony on HB 5378 here.
Watch CHA’s testimony before the Insurance and Real Estate Committee here.
