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January 22, 2025

Comptroller Scanlon ‘very confident’ state will raise Medicaid reimbursement rates

HBJ PHOTO | DAVID KRECHEVSKY State Comptroller Sean Scanlon discusses the 2025 Healthcare Cabinet Report during an event held Wednesday at the State Capitol in Hartford.

State Comptroller Sean Scanlon said Wednesday he is “very confident” the state will increase reimbursement rates for Medicaid during the current legislative session. 

Scanlon made that statement while unveiling the 2025 Comptroller’s Healthcare Cabinet Report, which includes recommendations for legislative proposals and other actions that can be taken to promote healthcare equity and access in the state.

Addressing a room in the state Capitol with more than 70 people present, including many Healthcare Cabinet members, Scanlon said the top priority of the cabinet’s report is increasing reimbursement rates for Medicaid and Medicare, as well as to close the gap between Medicaid reimbursements and the cost of care at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). 

An average of 60% of patients at FQHCs are covered by Medicaid, “which has created a roughly $75 million funding gap,” he said.

“I have too been … in conversation about this with some folks that are in this room and some folks that are not,” Scanlon said. “And I am very confident that we are going to raise the Medicaid rates this year.”

He noted that of the more than two dozen recommendations proposed to the legislature last year, “10 received a public hearing and four were passed by the legislature and signed into law” by Gov. Ned Lamont.

The four bills that became law last year were related to supporting senior citizens and improving nursing and home-based care; telehealth; distributing educational materials about intimate partner violence toward pregnant and postpartum patients; and expanding sick days in the state.

The 46-page 2025 report contains numerous recommendations from the cabinet’s eight subcommittees: Children, LGBTQIA+, mental health, rural access, urban accessibility and affordability, urban equities and disparities, women and workforce. 

In addition to seeking higher Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates, recommendations include:

  • Strengthening fertility care coverage laws.
  • Providing funding to incentivize and support care coordination.
  • Implementing a publicly available insurance plan scorecard for mental health parity, and
  • Establishing scholarships for students pursuing healthcare careers.

“This report begins the critical conversations we must have during the legislative process and the work that is ahead,” he said. “We must ensure that every single person in our state has access to the quality and affordable care that they deserve.”

He added, “The Cabinet and this report are meant to build on last year’s progress and continue the conversation on how we best achieve that.”

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