Three Connecticut health insurers want to raise rates for state-regulated individual plans by an average of nearly 18%.
Officials from each company that sells insurance plans through Access Health CT — Anthem Health Plans, ConnectiCare Insurance Company and CTCare Benefits Inc. — were at a public hearing at the State Capitol on Monday.
Nearly 160,000 Connecticut residents are on individual health plans from Access Health CT.
Andrew Mais, the state insurance commissioner, emceed the hearing.
“The carriers here today have attributed these proposed increases primarily to rising healthcare costs, prescription drug prices, adjustments for deteriorating experience from the prior rating period, year after year, increases in utilization of health care services and cost sharing changes in the individual market related to increases in cost sharing reductions among silver plan members,” Mais said.
Those concerns and more were echoed by the insurance company reps.
The companies also want a rate increase on small group plans.
Mais’s department can approve, reject, or amend the requested increases. A decision is expected in early September.
Politicians on both sides of the aisle have asked them to reject major increases.
“Please: State government regulators. Do all you can to protect consumers,” Republican State Senators Tony Hwang (Fairfield) and Stephen Harding (Brookfield) said. “We are speaking for thousands and thousands of them – they contact us every day…. and they are crying “Uncle”. We are listening to them. We will not stop fighting to protect the people and small business owners who drive our economy. Another huge rate spike will crush working and middle class families. Don’t do that to them.”
“These rates are simply unaffordable for Connecticut families and small businesses,” Attorney General William Tong (D) said. “I’ll be combing through every page of these applications and demanding that insurers justify every penny and every step they have taken to curb these out-of-control costs.”
