HARTFORD, Conn. — With rising costs all around, health care is no exception.
"We talk about the cost of living, the cost of living is going up but the cost of health care is going up at a much faster rate," said State Sen. Saud Anwar, chair of the Public Health Committee.
Lawmakers are trying to address that by passing a bill with bipartisan support to help reduce those costs, starting with the price of prescriptions.
The bill creates a drug discount card program that’s available to all Connecticut residents.
"That makes you eligible for the lowest cost drug that is available here in the state of Connecticut," said State Sen. Heather Somers, ranking member of the Public Health Committee.
The state will be able to join others in buying prescription drugs in bulk to help ensure those lower costs.
The bill will also create a study into the relationship between pharmacy benefit managers and the costs of prescription drugs.
Also, if a drug has increased at a rate of over 16%, the state will now be looking into why that occurred.
"Does it have to do with the flow of goods, the supply chain, or what are the factors that are requiring such a vast increase in the cost?" Somers said.
The bill also looks to make it more affordable for people, when they need a medical procedure by reducing facility fees that hospitals often charge.
"Allowing the facility fee but also not allowing it in certain areas so we can make sure that the cost for the patients is better controlled," Anwar said.
Lawmakers said almost 14% of residents go to federally qualified health centers to receive medical care and this bill takes steps to protect those.
"If we did not intervene, the federally qualified health care centers would no longer be able to function in our state," Anwar said.
Gov. Ned Lamont is set to sign the bill into law Tuesday morning at the State Capitol.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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