House Bill No. 6836, reported favorably by the Public Health Committee, authorizes the Department of Social Services (DSS) to implement a global budget payment methodology for licensed acute care hospitals, including children's hospitals, that choose to participate in the Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) federal demonstration program. This new payment methodology will replace the existing Medicaid fee-for-service payment method for participating hospitals, effective January 1, 2027. Nonparticipating hospitals will continue to use the fee-for-service model. The bill is set to take effect on October 1, 2025, and includes provisions for the global budget payment methodology to apply to all service categories included in the model.

The AHEAD program is an 11-year federal initiative aimed at managing healthcare quality and costs across all payors in Connecticut, with a focus on improving health equity and reducing disparities in healthcare access and outcomes. The program will provide participating hospitals with a fixed annual budget for inpatient and outpatient services, calculated based on historical payment data and adjusted for inflation and demographic changes. The bill does not specify the fiscal impact on the DSS, as the costs associated with implementing this new methodology are currently unknown. However, federal funding is available to support the program's planning and oversight through 2029.