Senate Bill No. 1253 aims to empower the insurance commissioner to reduce health insurance premium rate requests for individual and small employer group health insurance plans by up to two percentage points if the average approved premium rate increase exceeds the state's health care cost growth benchmark for the previous two plan years. This reduction is in addition to any other rate reductions permitted by law. The bill modifies existing regulations by repealing and substituting specific subsections of sections 38a-481 and 38a-513 of the general statutes, which govern the approval process for health insurance rates and policies.

The new provisions stipulate that the commissioner must adopt regulations to ensure that rates are not excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. The bill also clarifies that the commissioner can disapprove rate filings that do not comply with these standards. The effective date for these changes is set for January 1, 2026. Overall, the bill is designed to enhance oversight of health insurance premium rates and ensure they align with established health care cost growth benchmarks, thereby potentially lowering costs for consumers.