Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 26, 2026 FOCUS | HEALTH CARE The Mandate State Businesses warn health insurance requirements are driving up premiums, fueling calls for scrutiny The OLR report's mandate count is significantly higher than earlier tallies. A 2014 analysis by UConn's Center for Public Health and Health Policy identified 46 required health insurance mandates at the time, though indi- vidual studies may categorize or count them differently. Separately, in 2018, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said Connecticut had the second most health benefit mandates of any state. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) last February said Connecticut ranks among the top three states for state-mandated health benefits, and that the requirements drive up premiums by forcing insurers to expand coverage. CBIA said mandated benefits "add more than $2,000 to the cost of health insurance premiums in Connecticut." Wood, however, believes that, like the number of mandates, the effect on premium costs has also "probably doubled, if not tripled" over the past 10 years. "When you tell people in Connecticut that, just alone, the health benefit mandate cost is $5,000 or $6,000 Rep. Kerry Wood (D-Rocky Hill), co-chair of the legislature's Insurance and Real Estate Committee, is pushing for greater scrutiny of Connecticut's mandated health insurance benefits. Contributed Photo By David Krechevsky davidk@hartfordbusiness.com R ep. Kerry Wood (D-Rocky Hill), co-chair of the state legislature's Insurance and Real Estate Committee, says she often hears the same thing about health insurance in Connecticut when she meets legislators from across the country. "I go to national conferences and talk to my colleagues in other states, and (Connecticut is) known as the most mandate-rich state," Wood said. "That directly impacts the cost of insurance coverage." Business groups have long criticized Connecticut's large and growing list of mandated benefits, arguing they add to insurance coverage costs, particularly for small employers. Some lawmakers have pushed for greater scrutiny and transparency — including requiring cost-benefit analyses of existing benefits and any proposed additions — but a bill last year to create that review process did not pass. Instead, lawmakers approved at least one new health insurance benefit requirement during the 2025 session and expanded others. A recent Office of Legislative Research (OLR) report found Connecticut now has 81 mandated health insurance benefits for fully insured commercial plans, ranging from coverage for acci- dentally ingesting controlled drugs to Lyme disease treatment and wheelchair repairs. The mandates generally apply to individual plans, group plans or both. Of the four health insurance benefit changes enacted in 2025, three are already in effect, including a require- ment that insurers cover biomarker testing. The fourth — which expands autism spectrum disorder behavioral therapy coverage from under age 21 to under age 26 — takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. SOME OF CT'S HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE MANDATES • Autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and treatment • Biomarker testing • Birth-to-Three early intervention services • Breast cancer screening and related services • Colorectal cancer screening • Contraceptive benefits and services • Diabetes treatment (including insulin/drugs/devices) • Hearing aids • Infertility diagnosis and treatment • Lyme disease treatment Source: Office of Legislative Research

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