(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont released the following statement regarding the informational forum on healthcare cost drivers that was held today at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford and co-hosted by the Connecticut Insurance Department, the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, and the Office of Health Strategy:
“Healthcare is a human right that too many Connecticut residents struggle to afford. Today’s forum on healthcare cost drivers highlighted the pressing need for renewed efforts to make healthcare more affordable for Connecticut residents and small employers. While our healthcare system consistently ranks among the best in the nation on quality and performance, a high-quality system that patients cannot afford to access is not sustainable.
“At today’s session, state and national experts highlighted the key drivers of high and rising costs – unit prices continue to rise, especially for in-patient and out-patient hospital services and prescription drugs. Health system consolidation, while bringing some efficiencies, has not yet delivered on the promise of lower costs. Instead, reduced competition is raising prices by concentrating market power.
“Those trends have developed over decades and will take persistent and broad-based efforts to reverse. My administration’s cost growth benchmark, codified with the support of the Connecticut General Assembly, is a key lever in making healthcare prices more transparent and in driving payers and providers to contain their costs to the benchmark level. I call on every party to join together to address this problem – hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical manufacturers and benefit managers, insurance carriers, and large and small employers all have indispensable roles to play in tackling the high costs of healthcare. The status quo cannot and must not continue if we are to ensure high-quality, affordable health outcomes for every resident of Connecticut. I thank the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, the Connecticut Insurance Department, and the Office of Health Strategy for jointly convening this forum, as well as everyone who participated today.”