Sampson Record on lowering Healthcare Costs
FACT CHECK: MY LEGISLATIVE RECORD ON HEALTHCARE AND HEALTH INSURANCE
October 21, 2026
Following our debate, my opponent, Mr. Jack Perry, posted a 12-second video clip suggesting that I could not identify legislation I had passed concerning healthcare costs.
At the debate, I acknowledged that a specific bill did not immediately come to mind. That was true. I chose to make a broader point about Connecticut’s healthcare affordability problem and my longstanding disagreement with the policies pursued by the Democratic majority in Hartford.
Mr. Perry’s short clip does not include my entire response.
Here is the complete debate:
I encourage anyone interested to watch the full exchange and judge my answer in context. You can fast forward to 44:50 to find the exact moment of this Q & A.
I also decided to review my legislative record and answer his question more directly.
The research identified dozens of measures I introduced or cosponsored during my service in the Connecticut House and Senate. Some became law. Others did not. Many addressed insurance affordability, consumer choice, healthcare access, patient protections, treatment, and the cost of providing care.
For clarity, I have separated enacted legislation from unsuccessful proposals.
One distinction matters: improving healthcare and proving that a particular law reduced statewide insurance premiums are not the same thing. I will not claim a measurable premium reduction where the legislative record does not establish one. What the record does establish is substantial legislative activity on healthcare and insurance issues.
PART ONE: HEALTHCARE-RELATED LEGISLATION PASSED INTO LAW
The following are enacted measures identified in my legislative record, listed from most recent to oldest. They include laws addressing insurance coverage, access to treatment, patient protections, healthcare services, and public health.
2024
HB 5198: Telehealth Services
Continued provisions supporting remote healthcare appointments, helping patients access medical services without unnecessary travel.
2023
SB 1075: Hospice and Palliative Care
Addressed the availability and delivery of care for patients with serious or terminal illnesses.
SB 989: Medicaid Reimbursement and Healthcare Services
Addressed community health worker reimbursement, Medicaid payment studies, and nursing-home-related services.
HB 5001: Services for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities
Addressed resources and support services for individuals and families.
HB 5781: Nursing-Home and Dementia Protections
Addressed resident transfers, family councils, dementia services, and nursing-home transparency.
SB 2: Children’s Mental, Physical, and Emotional Wellness
Addressed preventive services and resources supporting children’s health.
SB 9, Public Act 23-97: Healthcare and Wellness for Connecticut Residents
Addressed access to physical and behavioral healthcare and the state’s response to opioid and fentanyl abuse.
HB 6741: Safety of Healthcare Providers and Patients
Addressed protections against threats and violence in healthcare settings.
HB 6718: Prescription Drug Safety
Addressed safe storage and disposal of medications and other controlled substances.
2022
HB 5001, Public Act 22-47: Children’s Mental Health
Addressed access to mental healthcare, behavioral-health services, and insurance-related patient protections, including certain cost-sharing requirements.
HB 5278: Patient Consent and Women’s Healthcare
Addressed intimate medical examinations and healthcare provider education concerning endometriosis and related conditions.
2021
SB 1030: Nursing Homes and Dementia Care
Addressed nursing-home operations and standards for dementia special-care units.
SB 1008: Health Equity and Pulse Oximeters
Addressed healthcare disparities and the appropriate use of patient-monitoring equipment.
SB 141: Firefighters’ Cancer Relief Benefits
Established further study of assistance for firefighters suffering from occupational cancer.
HB 6637: Mental Healthcare Rights for Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals
Addressed accessibility and appropriate mental-health treatment.
HB 6457: Nursing-Home Residents’ Virtual Visitation
Protected access to technology used for virtual connections and monitoring.
HB 6320: Autism Services
Addressed the Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council and coordination of support services.
2019
HB 7190: Opioid Overdose Prevention
Expanded Good Samaritan protections associated with emergency access to overdose-reversal medications.
2018
SB 376: Insurance Coverage for Prosthetic Devices
Addressed insurance benefits for patients requiring prosthetic equipment.
HB 5205, Public Act 18-13: Connecticut Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Expanded protections for covered health insurance policyholders and HMO members if an insurer becomes insolvent. This strengthened financial protection for consumers, although it was not a direct premium-reduction law.
2017
HB 7052: Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse Prevention
Addressed measures to reduce opioid misuse and improve public-health protections.
SB 246: Residential Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
Addressed statewide waiting-list information and access to residential placements.
HB 6260: Autism-Related Emergency Response Training
Improved law-enforcement training involving individuals with autism or nonverbal learning disorders.
2016
SB 433: Health Insurance Provider Networks
Addressed network adequacy and contracts between health carriers and providers to improve access to clinicians.
SB 371: Experimental Drugs
Addressed access to investigational treatments for qualifying patients with terminal illnesses.
SB 160: Hospital Transfers for Newborn Infants and Mothers
Addressed insurance prior-authorization requirements for certain interhospital transfers.
HB 5620, Special Act 16-4: Insurance Coverage for Substance-Use Disorder Treatment
Required a study of obstacles to treatment coverage, including insurance requirements and patients’ cost-sharing obligations.
HB 5262: Firefighters’ Cancer Relief Program
Established assistance for eligible firefighters affected by occupational cancers.
HB 5053: Opioid Overdose Reversal Drugs
Expanded access to medications used to reverse overdoses and strengthened related prevention measures.
2015
HB 6856: Substance Abuse and Opioid Overdose Prevention
Strengthened the state’s response to addiction and overdose emergencies.
2014
SB 179: Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Training
Addressed specialized training for personnel serving individuals with dementia.
HB 5500: Medicaid Provider Audits
Addressed procedures and protections for healthcare providers undergoing Medicaid audits.
HB 5487: Opioid Overdose Response
Extended legal protections to individuals administering overdose-reversal medication in emergencies.
HB 5262: Pharmacy Practices and Counterfeit Medications
Strengthened regulation relating to pharmacy operations and counterfeit pharmaceutical products.
HB 5229: Small-House Nursing-Home Pilot Program
Expanded alternatives to traditional institutional nursing-home care.
HB 5227: Elderly Nutrition and Livable Communities
Addressed nutrition programs, planning, and services for older residents.
HB 5222: Home and Community-Based Elder Care
Examined funding and support for elderly individuals and Alzheimer’s patients receiving care outside institutional settings.
2013
SB 1029: Autism Treatment Insurance Coverage
Preserved insurance coverage for treatment of autism spectrum disorders.
SB 972: Children’s Behavioral Healthcare
Addressed the system of mental, emotional, and behavioral-health services available to young people.
HB 5979: Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Task Force
Established a review of care needs, resources, and services for individuals living with dementia.
2012
HB 5476: Home-Based Skilled Nursing Services
Addressed access to continuous skilled nursing and related medical assistance outside institutional settings.
2011
SB 314: Mental-Health Insurance Protections
Addressed mental or nervous conditions under Connecticut’s unfair insurance practices law.
PART TWO: HEALTHCARE AND HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSALS THAT DID NOT BECOME LAW
This section is especially relevant to the question of affordability.
Over multiple sessions, I introduced or cosponsored legislation aimed at reducing taxes on healthcare, providing tax relief for long-term care insurance premiums, expanding consumer insurance options, improving competition, increasing oversight of exchange fees, and examining the structural causes of healthcare costs.
Many proposals were introduced repeatedly because they did not become law. In my opinion, this is a far more interesting list than what did become law. This is what we missed out on with the current majority in power.
2026
SB 71: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Would provide tax relief for premiums paid on qualifying long-term care policies covering care in the insured person’s home.
2025
SB 1073: Reciprocal Healthcare Provider Licensure
Would ease licensing barriers for qualified healthcare professionals, potentially increasing provider availability and competition.
SB 1054: International Medical Graduate Licensure
Would streamline licensing for qualified internationally trained physicians to address physician shortages.
SB 835: Healthcare Quality and Affordability
Proposed measures concerning healthcare system quality, access, and affordability.
SB 341: Oversight of Health Insurance Exchange Assessments
Would require legislative approval of assessments and fees imposed on health insurers, increasing accountability for costs that may be reflected in premiums.
SB 194: Health Insurance Exchange Reporting
Would require additional information concerning exchange operations and insurance enrollment for legislative oversight.
SB 169: Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Would strengthen efforts to prevent improper payments, fraud, and waste within Medicaid.
SB 116: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Would reduce eligible residents’ after-tax costs for insurance covering care at home.
2024
HB 5029: Home Healthcare Expense Deduction
Would establish a state income tax deduction for qualifying full-time home healthcare expenses.
HB 5247: Employee Health Benefit Consortiums
Would allow participating employers to combine purchasing arrangements and potentially obtain more competitive health insurance options.
2023
SB 707: Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit
Would provide income tax relief for qualifying insurance premiums, including policies covering care in the home.
SB 457: Cochlear Implant Insurance Coverage
Would require qualifying insurance coverage for cochlear implant surgery, reducing patients’ direct financial exposure where coverage was absent.
SB 456: Legislative Oversight of Exchange Assessments
Would prohibit new or increased Health Insurance Exchange assessments and fees on insurers without legislative approval.
SB 455: Insurance Marketplace Transparency
Would require additional reporting concerning enrollments, plans, and exchange operations.
SB 746: Medicaid Fraud Prevention
Would establish a fully staffed Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to improve oversight and reduce improper spending.
SB 745: Medicaid Eligibility and Employment
Would authorize a waiver addressing work requirements for certain young adult beneficiaries. This concerned program administration rather than directly reducing healthcare prices.
SB 545: Pain Treatment Access
Would address adequate prescribing of pain medication for patients with cancer, chronic pain, or receiving palliative or nursing-home care.
2022
SB 68: Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit
Would reduce the after-tax cost of long-term care insurance premiums.
SB 261: Home-Care Cost Deduction
Would establish a state income tax deduction for eligible home-care expenses.
2021
SB 317: Exchange Reporting Requirements
Would increase transparency concerning health insurance enrollment and the marketplace.
SB 316: Oversight of Exchange Fees
Would require legislative approval before the exchange could impose new assessments or fees on health insurers.
SB 315: Cochlear Implant Insurance Coverage
Would require coverage for qualifying cochlear implant procedures.
SB 310: Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
Would strengthen program integrity and oversight of healthcare spending.
SB 286: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Would provide tax relief for qualifying policies covering in-home healthcare.
2020
SB 30: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Another effort to reduce the after-tax cost of qualifying long-term care coverage.
2019
SB 336: Health Insurance Exchange Transparency
Would provide the legislature with additional insurance and enrollment data.
SB 334: Exchange Assessment Oversight
Would require legislative authorization for assessments and fees imposed on health insurers.
SB 318: Exchange Fee Increase Controls
Would require prior legislative approval for increases in insurance exchange assessments and user fees.
SB 258: Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit
Would reduce residents’ state income taxes based on qualifying premium payments.
SB 128: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Would encourage private long-term care coverage by providing tax relief on qualifying premiums.
2018
SB 372: Controls on Health Insurance Exchange Fees
Would require legislative approval before exchange assessments or fees charged to health insurers could increase.
HB 5207: Expanded Insurance Products
Would allow consumers to purchase additional types of health insurance plans with different benefit structures and appropriate disclosures, with the objective of increasing choice and price competition.
HB 5027: Long-Term Care Insurance Tax Credit
Would provide income tax relief for qualifying long-term care insurance premiums.
HB 5013: Elimination of Ambulatory Surgical Center Tax
Would repeal a state tax imposed on outpatient surgical facilities, reducing those providers’ tax burden.
2017
HB 6623: Health Insurance Premium Increases
Would establish a working group to investigate factors driving premium increases and recommend ways to mitigate those increases. The House passed the measure, but it was not enacted.
HB 6390: Elimination of Ambulatory Surgical Center Tax
Would remove a state tax on outpatient surgical facilities.
HB 6192: Legislative Oversight of Insurance Exchange Fees
Would require approval before fees or assessments were imposed on health insurance carriers.
HB 5161: Free-Market Healthcare Study
Would create a task force to examine the viability of a free-market healthcare system and alternative approaches to delivering and financing care.
HB 5139: Exchange Transparency
Would require additional reporting by the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange.
HB 5138: Affordable Care Act Requirements
Proposed changes concerning health coverage requirements associated with the ACA. The precise benefits and cost trade-offs would depend on the bill’s provisions.
HB 5067: Long-Term Care Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Would reduce the after-tax cost of purchasing qualifying long-term care coverage.
2016
HB 5057: State Employee Healthcare and Retirement Benefit Reform
Proposed changes to public employee benefits intended to control state spending. This concerned public benefit costs rather than general consumer premiums.
2015
SB 12: Health Insurance Exchange Board Membership
Would add an insurance producer to the exchange board to provide additional industry expertise.
HB 5194: Insurance Exchange Reporting
Would require additional marketplace data to be reported to legislative committees for greater oversight.
HB 5193: Insurance Benefit Mandates
Would change requirements concerning coverage for gender reassignment surgery. This was a coverage-mandate proposal, not a demonstrated premium reduction, and would have implications for affected patients’ coverage.
HB 5741: Cosmetic Medical Procedure Sales Tax
Would eliminate the sales tax on qualifying cosmetic medical services.
2014
SB 368: Hospital Tax Reduction
Would phase out the tax imposed on hospitals, reducing their tax expenses. Any resulting effect on healthcare prices would depend on how those savings were used.
SB 276: Health Insurance Exchange Reporting
Would increase reporting requirements and strengthen oversight of certain exchange personnel and contractors.
SB 15: Health Insurance Exchange Board Representation
Would add an insurance producer to the exchange’s governing board.
HB 5175: Cosmetic Medical Procedure Sales Tax
Would repeal the state sales tax on qualifying cosmetic procedures.
2013
HB 5880: Cosmetic Medical Procedure Sales Tax
Would eliminate a state tax applied to certain medical procedures, lowering the tax-inclusive price for those services.
WHAT THE RECORD SHOWS
The legislative record reflects recurring efforts over many years, including:
- Proposals to reduce the cost of long-term care insurance through state income tax credits.
- Repeated efforts to require legislative approval of assessments and fees imposed on health insurance companies by Access Health CT.
- Legislation seeking to expand insurance competition and the availability of alternative plans.
- Proposals to eliminate taxes imposed on hospitals, outpatient surgical centers, and certain medical services.
- Bills addressing healthcare provider availability, insurance coverage, patient protections, and access to treatment.
- Efforts to improve oversight of Medicaid spending and healthcare administration.
Some of these measures became law, while many were unsuccessful. Their histories are available through the Connecticut General Assembly links above.
The evidence supports a record of legislative involvement in healthcare and insurance matters. It does not establish that every successful measure reduced costs, nor does it establish what statewide savings would have resulted from proposals that failed.
There is one final point worth clarifying. The independent Center for Effective Lawmaking, an academic research initiative involving Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked me the most effective Republican member of the Connecticut State Senate for the 2023–2024 legislative period. That is the specific finding, rather than a claim that I ranked first among every legislator in Connecticut.
The study evaluates legislative effectiveness using measures that include bill sponsorship, advancement through the legislative process, and the significance of proposals.
Source:
I continue to believe Connecticut needs serious reforms that make healthcare and health insurance more affordable. The legislative proposals above document the approaches I have pursued. Readers can examine those proposals, consider their merits, and draw their own conclusions.
Mr. Perry continues to make misleading and partial statements of the record in a desperate attempt to deceive voters. We deserve better.
Here is a shareable document for easy documentation: Sampson_Healthcare_Legislative_Record_2011-2026.pdf
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