Sen. Kelly Applauds Senate Passage of Bills to Cap Insulin Costs, Extend Access to Telehealth

Today State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), Republican Ranking Member of the Insurance & Real Estate Committee, applauded the State Senate’s passage of two bills aimed at increasing access to affordable health care.

As Ranking Member of the Insurance Committee, Sen. Kelly has advocated for legislation to make insulin more affordable and accessible especially in emergency situations to help save lives. He also worked with committee co-chairs on legislation this summer in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to temporarily extend access to telehealth medical services to assist people who are at risk or fearful of leaving home to seek medical attention.

“These bills reflect important steps to help people access lifesaving medical supplies and help people who are fearful of leaving home still get access to medical attention from home during the pandemic. They both reflect a bipartisan effort to address these two issues with input from all perspectives to help the most vulnerable,” said Sen. Kelly.

“I also want to be clear that much more work lies ahead to address the health care challenges Connecticut residents face, especially during a pandemic, and to prepare for any potential resurgence in Coronavirus cases. I am disappointed that the legislature did not take action in this summer special session to address the concerns and problems faced by nursing home residents and workers, from obtaining personal protective equipment, to increasing family oversight of care, to requiring and implementing testing by the state to protect residents. I also believe our state needs to address health equity and better investigate what inequities exist in healthcare today. I have previously advocated for action on this front, and as we have seen COVID-19 disproportionately impact minority communities the need for more attention on this issue is clearer now than ever before.”

Watch Sen. Kelly’s remarks in the Senate circle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zifXou92b5E&feature=youtu.be.

More details on the two insurance bills below:

An Act Concerning Telehealth (H.B. 6001)

• In light of the spread of COVID-19, this bill extends the loosening of restrictions on the state’s telehealth rules as first initiated by an executive order at the start of the pandemic. It expands the ability of providers to deliver services via telehealth appointments through March 15, 2021 to help people continue to access medical care and attention from their homes by phone calls and other technology. The intent is to revisit these policies in the Spring to examine the impact of these changes and determine if future steps are needed.

An Act Concerning Diabetes and High Deductible Health Plans (H.B. 6003)

• This bill caps the cost of a 30-day supply of insulin at $25 for those who have healthcare coverage by a state-regulated insurance plan beginning in 2022. Other glucose-lowering medications would also be capped at $25, and the cost of other insulin-related supplies would be capped at $100 per month.

• The bill also would allow pharmacists to dispense insulin without a prescription in an emergency situation. This is modeled on “Kevin’s Law,” an Ohio law named after Kevin Houdeshell, who died in 2014 at age 36 after he couldn’t get access to his insulin prescription when it had expired over the New Year’s holiday. The bill allows for a pharmacist to dispense no more than one 30-day emergency supply of certain diabetes-related drugs and devices to a patient in a 12-month period. It establishes a price cap for these prescriptions and expands the prescription drug monitoring program to include them.

Both bills now head to the governor’s desk and await his signature.