Governor Ned Lamont has signed two major pieces of legislation introduced by State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98), both dealing with health care.

The first, Public Act 19-159 (An Act Concerning Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits), requires insurance companies to treat mental health and addiction treatment the same way they treat physical health and creates an accountability process to determine whether they are complying.

Scanlon first introduced the bill in 2018 with former state senator Ted Kennedy Jr. after a shocking report released in December 2017 by Milliman showed that Connecticut had the worst parity compliance in the entire United States.

“For too long Connecticut has lagged behind the rest of the nation when it comes to ensuring equal treatment for those with mental illness and substance use disorder,” said Scanlon. “After a long fight for fairness, today’s bill signing represents a new day for our state when it comes to ending discriminatory insurance practices and making sure everyone in Connecticut has access to the care they need.”

This year, Scanlon teamed up with State Representative Brenda Kupchick (R-132) to re-introduce the bill and the bipartisan bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

“There should never be a difference in health care for someone who has a disease of the brain versus a disease of the body and from now on there won’t be,” Scanlon said.

The second bill, Public Act 19-134 (An Act Expanding Required Health Insurance Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions), puts into state law the provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act that protects those with pre-existing conditions from being discriminated by insurance companies.

“Regardless of what happens to the Affordable Care Act in Washington, no one in Connecticut should be worried about losing their insurance because they have cancer or diabetes,” Scanlon said.