Sen. Somers pushes for more transparency in healthcare
December 29, 2020Contrasting Solutions as Pandemic Adds Urgency to High Insurance Costs in Connecticut
CT Examiner
Democratic and Republican state legislators are offering very different proposals on how to deal with one of the more pressing issues facing the legislature in January: the rising cost of health insurance.
Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, said that insurance costs were a particular problem for middle-class families, who watch as their premiums go up and up and at the same time have had to deal with job losses, high taxes and energy costs.
“This all fits under affordability,” he said. “Middle-class families are really stressed.”
State Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, who was also a founding partner of the medical device manufacturer Hydrofera, said that insurance companies should be required to make public the amount they are reimbursing doctors for patient visits and how much they pay pharmaceutical companies.
“Nobody really knows what the true cost of healthcare is, because you have to run it through the insurance companies,” said Somers.
She said that benchmarking could help provide that transparency.
“It gives people an idea on what a procedure should cost,” she said.
