SB-596,
a bill that would have implemented active
purchasing in Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, died yesterday
without action by the House on the last day of the session. The bill passed the
Senate last week. The bill directed exchange staff to negotiate premiums with
insurers. Negotiations in California and Massachusetts’s exchanges have kept
costs down for consumers and small businesses.
According to reports, the insurance industry lobbied heavily
against 596. Members of the House worked hard to pass the bill, but were
overridden by leadership. Exchange staff was not supportive of the bill. The
administration agreed to language in a budget implementer
bill that the exchange “may” negotiate premiums with insurers, a largely
meaningless move. But in the end, an amendment was added removing even that
language.
