HB 5480 Connecticut House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT CONCERNING PEER SUPPORT SERVICES UNDER THE MEDICAID PROGRAM.

This bill requires the state Medicaid program to pay for peer support services, which are recovery-focused behavioral health services provided by individuals with lived experience in mental illness or substance use recovery. Starting July 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Social Services must update Medicaid rules to include these services in care teams and begin reimbursing certified peer support specialists for their work. The law also mandates a report by August 1, 2027, detailing how many specialists receive payment, how many Medicaid enrollees they serve, and any treatment outcome data collected from their services.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Mar 5, 2026 Last action Apr 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Raised Bill → HS Joint Favorable Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to reflect its status as a favorable substitute after committee review, updating the header and footer to indicate 'Substitute Bill' and 'Joint Favorable Substitute.' The only substantive policy change involves clarifying a reference in the reporting requirements; the word 'they' was changed to 'such specialists' to ensure the report clearly attributes data to the peer support specialists rather than the general program.

TECHNICAL

The definition of 'peer support specialist' was slightly adjusted to change 'may have' to 'has' experience, though this appears to be a minor wording refinement rather than a significant shift in eligibility criteria.

The reporting requirement was clarified by replacing the pronoun 'they' with 'such specialists' to explicitly link the data reporting to the peer support specialists.

The document metadata was updated to reflect the bill's progression from a 'Raised Bill' to a 'Substitute Bill' with a 'Joint Favorable Substitute' status.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Joint Favorable Substitute

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Committee

REF. TO JOINT COMM. ON Human Services

lower

21 primary · 0 co-sponsors