Representative Nuccio Appointed to Serve on New Mental Health Provider Task Force

HARTFORD — House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora recently announced his appointment of State Representative Tammy Nuccio (R-53rd) to serve on a new state task force set up to identify and help remove barriers for Connecticut patients to access affordable in-network mental health providers.

Nuccio, a member of the Insurance Committee who submitted legislation establishing the 10-member task force as part of the committee’s work on substance abuse and mental health care issues in 2021, says the state needs to do more to reduce the cost and stigma for residents accessing mental health services.

“What 2020 has revealed to us more than anything is the importance of mental wellness to residents of all ages, and while as a society we are more open than ever to the realities and struggles of those suffering with a mental illness or substance abuse, we still have much farther to go as a state in increasing the affordability and accessibility of vital resources and care to those who often still suffer in silence,” Nuccio said.

Serving as a state representative for the more rural communities of Ashford, Tolland and Willington, Nuccio says, has allowed her to bring a unique perspective from residents of small towns who often struggle to get the prescriptions they need filled, or access reliable transportation to visit providers in farther corners of the state.

She also says many mental health providers — like clinical social workers, substance abuse clinicians and certified peer specialists — face equally daunting barriers to participating in insurance companies’ provider networks, which make those services more affordable for patients than when they are accessed “out-of-network”. Nuccio says members of the task force plan to explore more avenues for the state to incentivize provider participation in these networks, thus driving down the underlying cost for services and allowing more residents to access care closer to home.

“As we always do in our work on the Insurance Committee, we need to get deep into the weeds on these issues to tackle the underlying costs of mental health wellness services that prevent patients from getting the care they need,” Nuccio concluded. “Everything from intake to billing and reimbursement must be evaluated to ensure that it is encouraging provider network participation and that, where there is hesitancy, we understand and can address the reasons why physicians are hesitant to enter into these networks.”

Membership on the task force also includes one representative of the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange appointed by the House Speaker, two representatives with experience in the large-group market appointed by the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the executive director of the Office of Health Strategy or a representative from the agency, and five additional members appointed by the Governor, Senate President, and House Majority Leader.