Maria Horn

Dear Friend,



This is my State Capitol update for the week of June 26th.



If you prefer to watch rather than read, click on the video below to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter.

As we digest what we accomplished in this year’s legislative session, we’re all translating those statewide laws into the impact they will have on each district.  There are a number of laws that will take effect on July 1, for example. 

 

There’s also been a lot of national news recently with local implications, from the death of long-time Kent resident Paul-Henri Nargeolet in the implosion of the submersible traveling to the Titanic wreckage, to federal broadband funds being allocated to CT that should have a direct impact on the Northwest Corner.

 

Among the local events I’ve been a part of recently were the awards that the Northwest CT Chamber of Commerce gives to local leaders annually.  Representative Michelle Cook and I were asked to present one of the Quality of Life awards to the Litchfield Opiate Task Force.  Their work not only saves the precious lives of many suffering from addiction, but focuses on the quality of those lives, the lives of family and friends affected, and our whole community.  They see the worst moments, and respond with the best humanity can offer – with skill, warmth, compassion, and love.  I cannot think of an organization more viscerally tied to improving the quality of the lives in the region and it was a real honor to present the award to co-chairs Maria Coutant Skinner and Tom Narducci.

I also wanted to note that one year has passed since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and a lot has happened.  Connecticut has fought hard to ensure that women in the state continue to have meaningful access to a full range of reproductive health care, including abortion care, but it is a battle as we watch many states enact bans that are not only denying abortions, but are impairing access to healthcare to pregnant women experiencing a range of medical difficulties.  

Safe, legal abortion, which was a recognized federal constitutional right nationwide for nearly 50 years, suddenly...wasn't. Fast-forward 365 days, and more than a quarter of states have banned abortion outright, and several more have severely restricted access. 



Here in Connecticut, the right to an abortion has been codified in state law since 1990, and we're not backing down. This past year, we took steps to protect those seeking abortions and their providers, and just this week, Attorney General William Tong appointed a special counsel to protect abortion access. 



Learn more about abortion access in Connecticut: tinyurl.com/4s453tmv

• COVID-19 weekly update. Click here
• Laws taking effect in Connecticut on July 1. Click here
• President Biden announces $144 million to improve broadband connectivity in Connecticut. Click here
• DEEP Launches State’s First Electric Bike Voucher Program. Click here.
• $6 million in funds from Volkswagen settlement will be released to expand electric vehicle charging stations in Connecticut. Click here.
• Legislation focused on health care affordability becomes law. Click here
• Rural Road Safety Awareness week is July 17-21. Click here
• Kent 2023 Concert Series: Fridays starting July 7. Click here
• Washington 4th of July 5k. Click here

COVID-19 Data

For graphs and tables containing data on COVID-19, including a list of cases in every municipality click the button below.

Laws taking effect in Connecticut on July 1

A number of new laws that my colleagues and I worked on during the 2023 legislative session to implement meaningful change in our state will take effect in Connecticut on July 1.



See below for some highlights.

Connecticut was one the few states in the country that did not allow early voting that provides voters with options to accommodate busy and hectic schedules. Effective July 1, voters will have 14 days of early voting for general elections, 7 days of early voting for most primaries, and 4 days of early voting for special elections and presidential preference primaries.  

 

Our state has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. This new law prohibits intimidation, deception, or obstruction related to voting and allows aggrieved parties to seek remedies in court.

 

The law extends eligibility for the state’s debt-free community college program to returning students by removing requirements that a qualifying student must be a first-time enrollee at a community-technical college and awards must be applied during a student’s first 48 consecutive months, thus allowing returning students to receive the award if they meet all other eligibility requirements.

 

Under the law, $3,200 will be placed in a trust on behalf of each baby born into HUSKY, the state’s Medicaid program, starting July 1. Those investments will grow over time and recipients could access that money between the ages of 18-30.

Endometriosis is an underdiagnosed condition. For those suffering from this condition, endometrial-like tissue grows outside the uterus with nearby reproductive organs often affected. The law requires UConn Health Center to develop an endometriosis data and biorepository program to enable and promote research on early detection and ways to manage the condition in adolescents and adults.

 

Certain public agencies will start providing free menstrual products including public colleges and universities, homeless and domestic violence shelters that receive state aid.

Your calls, emails, and testimony at public hearings during this year's legislative session had a direct influence on these new laws. Thank you for your input and please continue expressing your views and making your voice heard during our legislative process.

President Biden announces $144 million to improve broadband connectivity in Connecticut

This week, Connecticut scored $144,180,792.71, its share of the $42.45 billion allocated from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment portions of the Infrastructure Act of 2021. These funds will be used to support Connecticut’s ongoing efforts to deploy affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service statewide. 

 

States, D.C., and US territories receiving funding will receive their formal notice of allocation on June 30, 2023. Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, eligible entities have 180 days from the date of that formal notice to submit their initial proposals describing how they propose to run their grant programs. Once the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved an initial proposal, which will occur on a rolling basis, eligible entities will be permitted to request access to at least 20% of their allocated funds.

 

For more information, the CT Mirror wrote a great story which includes Sharon’s experience so far: https://ctmirror.org/2023/06/27/ct-high-speed-internet-broadband-access-funding/

 

This funding should be able to help all the towns in the 64^th District, as each town has some people who remain unconnected. A national study was released this week about the Affordable Connectivity Plan, and it has great data on zip-code level about the nexus of economic status and digital connectivity. You can find the whole study here: https://www.benton.org/blog/affordable-connectivity-program-and-rural-america

DEEP Launches State’s First Electric Bike Voucher Program 

This week the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) launched the State’s first electric bicycle (eBike) voucher program, helping to offer residents a different clean transportation option, with increased incentives for low- and moderate-income individuals and those who live in distressed or environmental justice (EJ) communities.  

 

The new eBike program was established by Public Act 22-25 (the Connecticut Clean Air Act), which expanded the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR) incentive program to include incentives for eBikes. The CHEAPR program already provides incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) costing up to $50,000 and will now include incentives for qualifying eBikes costing up to $3,000.  

 

The new eBike Program will provide a point of sale incentive for the purchase of a new qualifying eBike from a participating eBike retailer in Connecticut. The eBike incentive, which must be applied for on-line and obtained before purchasing an eligible eBike, is intended to provide additional electrified transportation options and improve air quality, especially within EJ and disadvantaged communities.   

 

What is the eBike incentive? 

The incentive is a voucher that you must apply for and obtain before you purchase a qualifying new eBike from a participating eBike retailer in Connecticut. There are two voucher amounts: the Standard Voucher is $500 and the enhanced “Voucher+” is $1,000. The vouchers are ‘stackable’ so qualifying Connecticut residents in EJ or disadvantaged communities will be eligible for a $1,500 incentive.  

 

How to Apply for the eBike Incentive  

The application portal opened at 9:00 a.m. on June 28, 2023. To qualify for a Standard Voucher, applicants must be 18 years or older and in possession of a valid driver’s license or state identification card. Qualified applicants must first register for their eBike voucher and receive approval from the Program before purchasing an eligible eBike.     

More information: http://www.DriveCHEAPR.org/ebikes

$6 million in funds from Volkswagen settlement will be released to expand electric vehicle charging stations in Connecticut

Governor Lamont’s administration is releasing more than $6 million from the legal settlement in the Volkswagen Corporation (VW) emissions cheating scandal to fund 54 electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) projects across Connecticut.

 

Administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the state is making these funds available for the installation of EVSE to encourage the use of electric vehicles. Approximately $1.8 million is being awarded for EVSE deployment at state government sites to advance the sustainability goals of Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 1, with an additional $3.3 million awarded for municipal projects, ten of which are located in environmental justice communities. Additionally, nearly $1 million is being dedicated to support non-government, public EVSE.

 

The transportation sector is responsible for approximately Connecticut’s 70% of smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and 40% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This funding from the VW settlement will leverage utility sponsored incentives to support the growing number of electric vehicles and move the state closer toward meeting its health-based air quality standards, as well as its long-term climate goals, while at the same time creating economic development opportunities.

  

The fifty-five projects selected for funding under this funding cycle, over their lifetime, will cost-effectively reduce 2,760 tons of NOx emissions and almost 126,000 tons of GHGs from environmental justice communities and other areas of Connecticut that bear a disproportionate share of air pollution. The projects were selected from 87 submitted proposals for 163 projects at 181 individual sites (addresses) and included 24 state government projects, 50 municipal government projects, and 89 private (non-government) projects.

 

With the $6 million of this funding round, a total of $35 million of Connecticut’s VW settlement funding has been awarded to support more than 100 clean air projects statewide.

 

The projects announced under this funding cycle of DEEP’s VW Diesel Emissions Mitigation Program include several in the Northwest Corner region, in Torrington, Litchfield and Winchester.

   

For more information on Connecticut’s VW Diesel Emissions Mitigation Program, visit portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Air/Mobile-Sources/VW/VW-Settlement---Grants.

Legislation focused on health care affordability becomes law

With Governor Lamont’s signature this week, legislation that enacts a series of initiatives focused on reducing health care costs and improving the delivery of care for Connecticut residents became law.

 

The legislation, Public Act 23-171, contains a multitrack approach to tackle the ongoing issue of health care affordability, and was developed with input from a diverse group stakeholders.

 

Some of the major provisions in the legislation include:

 

Discount Card/Consortium

• Drug Discount Card Program – allows the Comptroller to establish a discount card and incorporate regional consortium to pool prescription drug purchasing power.

• Study on centralizing statewide contracts to consolidate purchasing prescription and physician administered drugs by state agencies, state hospitals, state-operated local mental health authorities.

 

Report on Establishing Framework for Academic Detailing

• Requires the Department of Consumer Protection and the UConn School of Pharmacy to complete a study regarding a program to help inform patients and prescribers when patents expire and drugs become available in generic.

 

Strengthen Oversight of RX Marketing-Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Registration

• Manufacturers who employ an individual to perform as sales representatives shall annually register marketing firm at a cost of a $150 dollars per year.
• There are an estimated 2,000 pharmaceutical marketing firms and firms would pay one registration fee for all their sales representatives.
• Upon initial registration and annually thereafter the pharmaceutical marketing firm shall provide a list of all individuals employed as a pharmaceutical sales representative.
• Sales representatives shall provide the Department of Consumer Protection commissioner with the following information for the previous calendar year:
  • The aggregate number of contacts such pharmaceutical sales representative had with prescribing practitioners or pharmacists;
  • Specialties of the prescribing practitioners or pharmacist such pharmaceutical sales representative contacted;
  • Whether product samples, materials, or gifts of any value were provided to a prescribing practitioner or staff in a prescribing practitioner's office or pharmacist; and
  • Aggregate reporting of all free samples by drug name and strength in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.

• The information will be analyzed annually, posted on the department’s website and submitted to the Office of Policy and Management.
• Information is reported in aggregate to protect patient privacy.

 

PBM Study

• Study of pharmacy benefits managers’ practices of prescription drug distribution practices including spread pricing arrangements, manufacturing rebates and transparency, fees charged, financial incentives for adding drugs to health plan formularies, and an evaluation of prescription drug distribution practices.

 

Increased Transparency for High-Cost Drug Increases

• Updates the Office of Health Strategy’s annual drug reporting requirement thresholds to ensure enhanced scrutiny of costs.

 

Expands Prohibitions on Facility Fees

• Prohibits facility fees on certain routine services provided at a hospital. Prohibits, beginning July 1, 2024, any hospital or health system from collecting a facility fee on certain outpatient health care services (evaluation and management, and assessment and management CPT codes) that are provided on the hospital campus. There are several exemptions from this new prohibition (i.e. a facility fee can be charged):
  • Services provided at an ED or freestanding ED
  • Observation stays occurring on a hospital campus, wound care, orthopedics, anticoagulation, obstetrics, and solid organ transplant services
  • For any contract that is in effect July 1, 2024 that includes facility fees until the date of expiration, renewal, or amendment

• Increases enforcement authority of the Office of Health Strategy for facility fee violations. Adds enforcement language for when facility fees are charged in violation with the statute, other than through isolated clerical or electronic billing errors.
• Enhances facility fee reporting by hospital and health systems. Adds to current reporting requirements that certain data items must be disaggregated as being “on-campus” or “off-campus” of a hospital.

  

Certificate of Need

• Enhances Office of Health Strategy enforcement authority for its CON program. Changes the legal standard needed to impose a civil penalty from “willful” to “negligent” and lays out a process for cease and desist orders for violating CON provisions.
• Promotes public notice of CON proceedings. Improves how notice is given to the public of a hearing on a CON application by requiring the applicant to post information concerning said hearing on its own website and request it be posted in two sites within the affected community, as well as any local health department website.
• Improves Office of Health Strategy access to technical expertise. Allows the Office of Health Strategy to retain the services of a subject matter expert at the expense of an applicant.
• Clarifies applicability of CON to scanning equipment. Specifies that scanner with dual modalities or functionalities are not subject to CON if the applicant already offers similar imaging services for each of the modalities and specifies that replacement of nonhospital based linear accelerators are not subject to CON.
• Increases efficiency of CON review. Requires the Office of Health Strategy to provide CON determinations within 30 days and make reasonable efforts to limit requests for additional information to two cycles and conclude no later than six months after receiving the application.

 

Study of Medicaid

• Requires the Department of Social Services, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to conduct an assessment and recommend strategies to address barriers and influences that impact health and health care outcomes for HUSKY Health members.

 

Study of Medicare Advantage

• Requires the Connecticut Insurance Department in consult with the Office of Health Strategy report to committee of cognizance matter relating to insurance regarding an analysis of utilization management and provider payment practices of MA programs.
• Study impact of practices on delivery of hospital outpatient and inpatient services, placement, discharges, transfer and other clinical care plans.
• Study costs to hospitals and plan members associated with the practice.
• Effect on such practices on commercial, non-Medicare payment rates and access to services.
• Comparison of claim denials, modifications and reversals on appeal among MA plans and with traditional Medicare, Medicaid and commercial non-Medicare products.
• Based on findings a report shall provide recommendations to improve quality and access to care, improve timely delivery of care and reduce provider administrative costs, address payment practices that inappropriately reduce provider payment, improve any practices identified in the study by contributing to unwarranted changes, consider quarterly monitoring of prior authorization requests, address broad effects of MA plan practices on health care delivery system, reduce costs for consumers and the extent to which states have the authority to regulate MA plans.

 

Anti-Compete, Tiering, Steering, and Gag Clause

• Anti-competitive contracting practices make it harder for insurers and consumers to learn about and access the highest quality, lowest cost providers.
• This outlaws the use of various anti-competitive contracting practices

 

For a full analysis of the bill, see https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/BA/PDF/2023HB-06669-R01-BA.PDF.

Rural Road Safety Awareness week is July 17-21 

Rural Road Safety Awareness Week (RRSAW) will be held July 17-21 this year. With new federal funding available for rural communities through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the National Center for Rural Road Safety is promoting the tools and resources practitioners need to reach their safety goals.

The overall theme of RRSAW 2023 is “What’s Speed Got To Do With It?” Each weekday of the campaign will have a separate topic, all related to speed management on rural roads. To learn more about this year's theme, check out the RRSAW 2023 announcement.

The National Center for Rural Road Safety held a Sneak Peak Webinar in May. For a preview of what they've been working on, watch the recording here.

Kent 2023 Concert Series: Fridays starting July 7

Washington 4th of July 5k

It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.



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Sincerely,





Maria Horn

State Representative