LCO No. 5498 1 of 3
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1421
January Session, 2025
LCO No. 5498
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING MEDICAID COVERAGE FOR OBESITY
TREATMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Not later than thirty days 1
after the effective date of this section, the Commissioner of Social 2
Services shall petition the Secretary of the Department of Health and 3
Human Services pursuant to 28 USC 1498, as amended from time to 4
time, to authorize generic, lower cost forms of glucagon-like peptide 5
(GLP-1) prescription drugs approved by the federal Food and Drug 6
Administration to treat obesity or diabetes. 7
(b) Upon approval of such petition, the commissioner shall enter into 8
a contract with any manufacturer of generic forms of such drugs 9
approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration to supply such 10
drugs to the state for use by HUSKY Health program members. The 11
commissioner may enter into a consortium with officials in other states 12
in contracting with such manufacturer for such drugs. 13
(c) The commissioner shall develop a strategic plan to maximize 14
access to and minimize the cost of such drugs and, not later than 15
Raised Bill No. 1421
LCO No. 5498 2 of 3
December 31, 2025, submit a report, in accordance with the provisions 16
of section 11-4a of the general statutes, on the plan to the joint standing 17
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 18
relating to human services and to the advisory committee established 19
pursuant to section 2 of this act. 20
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established an advisory 21
committee to (1) study ways to maximize access to cost-effective 22
prescription drugs approved by the federal Food and Drug 23
Administration for the treatment of obesity, and (2) make 24
recommendations to the Commissioner of Social Services. 25
(b) The committee shall consist of the following members: 26
(1) Two patient advocates appointed by the chairperson of the 27
Council on Medical Assistance Program Oversight, established 28
pursuant to section 17b-28 of the general statutes; 29
(2) Two pharmacists enrolled as Medicaid providers, appointed by 30
the Commissioner of Social Services; and 31
(3) Two medical professionals, including at least one doctor certified 32
by the American Board of Obesity Medicine, appointed by the Senate 33
and House chairpersons of the joint standing committee of the General 34
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services. 35
(c) The committee shall convene not later than thirty days after the 36
effective date of this section and choose a chairperson. The committee 37
shall meet at least bimonthly. 38
(d) The committee shall review the strategic plan developed by the 39
Commissioner of Social Services pursuant to section 1 of this act and 40
shall make recommendations to the commissioner on implementation 41
of the plan and the results of its study not later than January 31, 2026. 42
The committee shall terminate upon submission of its recommendations 43
to the commissioner or January 31, 2026, whichever is later. 44
Raised Bill No. 1421
LCO No. 5498 3 of 3
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage New section
Sec. 2 from passage New section
Statement of Purpose:
To allow the state to pursue cost-effective alternatives to brand name
drugs prescribed to HUSKY Health program members for obesity
treatment.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]