Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation expanding mandatory health insurance coverage for several medical treatments and conditions, including athletic prosthetic devices, chemotherapy-related hair loss prevention and care for pediatric neuroimmune disorders, according to Beinsure.
Lamont signed the bill at the University of Hartford Hanger Clinic during an 11 a.m. event with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ron Welch and state leaders. Advocacy groups representing patients affected by the covered conditions also attended the signing.
Public Act 26-33 requires individual and group insurance policies in Connecticut to cover scalp cooling systems for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. These systems aim to prevent or reduce treatment-related hair loss, a side effect that often carries a heavy emotional and social cost for patients.
The law also requires coverage for prosthetic devices designed for athletic use. That provision gives people with limb loss and limb difference broader access to equipment needed for sports, exercise and other physical activity, rather than limiting coverage to basic mobility needs.
Connecticut insurers must also cover treatment for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, known as PANDAS, and Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, known as PANS.
The required coverage includes intravenous immunoglobulin therapy when used as part of treatment.
The legislation also expands the statutory definition of infertility. That change broadens eligibility for infertility diagnosis and treatment under Connecticut insurance policies and gives more patients access to covered reproductive care.
The Insurance and Real Estate Committee introduced the bill. In addition to the coverage mandates, the law directs the Insurance Commissioner to study mandated health insurance coverage for selected medical treatments and services.
According to Beinsure, the Connecticut measure adds to a broader state-level push to define which treatments insurers must cover as medically necessary care.
For insurers, the law creates new compliance obligations across individual and group policies, while patients gain wider access to treatments that often sit outside standard coverage terms.
