Insurance Committee Votes to Require Public Option Offerings to be Treated Like Other Health Insurance Policies.

The legislature’s insurance committee took a critical step to applying consumer protections to health insurance policies offered by the state. In a protracted meeting, a bipartisan coalition voted 10-8 to subject “public option” policies to the same regulatory requirements as health insurance polities created by the state comptroller’s office.

The regulations include oversight by insurance regulators and independent actuaries. The plan would also need to provide reserves separate from the unwitting taxpayer.

The vote is a victory for the state’s insurance industry, which employs tens of thousands of Connecticut residents.