HB 06447 Summary

• Establishes the Office of Health Strategy within the Department of Public Health to develop comprehensive health care cost containment and access strategies, effective July 1, 2021.

• Creates the Covered Connecticut account, a separate nonlapsing fund administered by the Office of Health Strategy to support health care expansion initiatives through the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange and Department of Social Services.

• Directs the Office of Health Strategy to annually develop plans to reduce Connecticut's uninsured rate using account funds, which may include state premium subsidies, reinsurance programs, or Medicaid expansion.

• Implements a fee on insurers, health care centers, and self-insured plan administrators based on insured lives, with proceeds deposited into the Covered Connecticut account and an initial target of $30 million in 2022 increasing to $50 million annually.

• Caps pharmaceutical manufacturers' prescription drug price increases at the reference price adjusted for inflation plus 2% annually compounded, with 80% of excess profits assessed as civil penalties starting January 1, 2022, and requires 180-day notice before withdrawing drugs from the state market.