Rate Increases Being Sought by Insurers Attract Vocal Opposition

The focus at the State Capitol on Monday, August 21 turns to prospective insurance rate increases, and the volume has already been turned up by disparate voices concerned about dramatic increase– voices ranging from consumer advocates to Connecticut’s Attorney General.

The Connecticut Insurance Department will be holding a hearing on the latest rate hike requests from health insurance companies at 9 am at the Legislative Office Building (LOB).  Department representatives are likely to hear from consumers both inside and outside the hearing room, as the Connecticut Citizen Action Group has been organizing people to share their stories, both during the hearing and on social media and other platforms.  Plans are also in the works for a protest outside the LOB to underscore opposition to proposed rate hikes.

In a detailed 11-page letter to State Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais last week, Attorney General William Tong was highly critical of “double-digit rate increases sought by the nine health insurers offering individual and small group plans.”  Tong noted that “the decisions made here will impact the cost of healthcare in Connecticut for us all.”

The proposed average individual rate request for the plan year starting January 1, 2024 is a 12.4% increase, compared to 20.4% in plan year 2023. Increases requested range from 9.8% to 17%. The proposed average small group rate request is a 14.8% increase, compared to 14.8% in 2023 and ranges from 7.5% to 23.%, according to the Attorney General’s Office.  Companies seeking the increases include Cigna, Anthem, and ConnectiCare.

Regarding the proposed rate increases being sought, CCAG’s website says “Be prepared to be shocked. We will reveal how the insurance companies who sought to derail the public option have spent billions of your premium dollars to further enrich themselves and already-wealthy shareholders… Our government needs to act in a much stronger manner to rein in these corporate profiteers.”

CCAG is calling on the Insurance Department to “take into account profits, executive pay, stock buybacks, and vertical integration and mergers and acquisitions -- and to reject these requests -requested increases are as high as 23% .”

Tong indicated that “between 2016 and 2022, rates sought by insurers and approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department far outstripped consumer inflationary trends. He is highly critical of the data and analysis underpinning the rate increases being sought, pointing out that “Insurers have failed to explain how their administrative costs continue to rise,” urging the department regulators to “take a close look at the level of funds insurers hold in reserve and charge to insureds,” and raising concerns about “pandemic distortions” and “double counting” in the analysis.

“The Insurance Department can and must thoroughly scrutinize these applications and be a voice for consumers in a system that is making health insurance less accessible every year— as profit and executive compensation continues to rise and companies lobby hard to protect the status quo,” Tong urged.  The letter noted that in accordance with state law, “in order for these rates to be approved, the Connecticut Insurance Department must determine that these requested rates are not ‘excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory.’”

It also included 35 specific questions that he suggested ought to be answered as part of the hearing process, adding that the Attorney General’s Office “is exploring potential legislative reforms that would impose heightened scrutiny.”