(a) There is established a Health Care Access Commission, within the legislative department, which shall be comprised of: (1) The Commissioner of Public Health; (2) the Commissioner of Social Services; (3) the Insurance Commissioner; (4) three members appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be a member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health, one of whom shall represent community health centers and one of whom shall represent mental health services; (5) two members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall represent commercial insurance companies and one of whom shall represent the disabled; (6) three members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, one of whom shall be a member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, one of whom shall represent Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut, Inc. and one of whom shall represent small business; (7) three members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to human services, one of whom shall represent consumers and one of whom shall represent labor; (8) two members appointed by the majority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall represent large business and one of whom shall represent children; and (9) three members appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a member of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to insurance, one of whom shall represent hospitals and one of whom shall be a pediatric primary care physician. All members of the commission may be represented by designees.

(b) The commission shall develop the design, administrative, actuarial and financing details of program initiatives necessary to attain the goal described in section 19a-7a. The commission shall make recommendations to the General Assembly on any legislation necessary to further the attainment of the goal described in section 19a-7a.

(c) The commission may request from all state agencies such information and assistance as it may require.

(d) The commission may accept any gifts, donations or bequests for any of the purposes of this section and for the achievement of the goal described in section 19a-7a.

(P.A. 90-134, S. 2, 28; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-11, S. 16, 25; P.A. 93-262, S. 55, 87; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 39, 58; P.A. 96-227, S. 16; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 16, 121; P.A. 01-195, S. 137, 181; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 28; P.A. 15-247, S. 33.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-11 added an interim report due February 1, 1992, and extended the due date of the final report to February 1, 1993; P.A. 93-262 amended Subsec. (a) to replace reference to commissioners of income maintenance and human resources with commissioner of social services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health and replaced Commission on Hospitals and Health Care with Office of Health Care Access, effective July 1, 1995 (Revisor's note: A reference to “Commissioner of Insurance” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Insurance Commissioner” for consistency with customary statutory usage); P.A. 96-227 amended Subsec. (b) to correct the citation to Sec. 38a-556; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), effective June 24, 1998; P.A. 01-195 amended Subsec. (a) to insert Subdiv. designators, make technical changes and substitute “the Commissioner of Health Care Access” for “the chairman of the Office of Health Care Access”, effective July 11, 2001; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) to delete former Subdiv. (4) re Commissioner of Health Care Access being member of commission and redesignate existing Subdivs. (5) to (10) as Subdivs. (4) to (9), effective October 6, 2009; P.A. 15-247 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provisions re commission study of experience of the state and report to General Assembly, effective July 10, 2015.

See Sec. 19a-490a for definition of “community health center”.