Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism
CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut

Insurance giants’ proposed merger likely to hurt Connecticut health care

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by Frances Padilla, Tom Swan and Matthew Katz
  • May 5, 2016
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The proposed mergers of insurance giants Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana are likely to have a negative impact on both the cost and quality of care in Connecticut.

Mergers are usually justified by claims of increased efficiency and opportunity for innovation, but based on past experience those results are rarely delivered.

In fact, such a major consolidation would permanently change our state’s health care system for patients, physicians and other stakeholders. Mergers of this size should be carefully questioned, because they can lead to spikes in health insurance premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and other out-of-pocket costs for patients.

The U.S. Department of Justice is currently reviewing the mergers to determine whether they violate antitrust laws by reducing market competition. Federal law prohibits mergers when the effect may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.

State insurance departments are also reviewing the impact of these proposed mergers. Here in Connecticut, Anthem currently provides health insurance to about 1.1 million residents and Cigna covers just under half a million. If the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger is approved, the resulting mega-insurer will cover 64% of Connecticut’s covered lives.

As the scheduling of a Connecticut Insurance Department public hearing on the Anthem-Cigna merger approaches, the nation’s eyes will be on Connecticut.

That is why the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, the Connecticut State Medical Society and Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut decided to form the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice.

Our goal is to protect consumer choice and ensure a more transparent review process where patients, physicians, advocacy groups, and interested parties are given a fair chance to express their concerns regarding this unprecedented merger.

Connecticut statutes require our Insurance Commissioner, Katharine Wade, to evaluate the financial solvency of the merging companies and the benefit to policyholders. In the past, similar public hearings have been held at times and locations inaccessible to most consumers.


We have asked Commissioner Wade and the Connecticut Insurance Department to;

  • Require that the public hearing be held at a venue and time that allows for maximum public participation;
  • Grant interested parties’ intervenor status to allow for an adequate review of the proposed merger;
  • Commission a study that will analyze the potential impact on cost, access, and the Connecticut economy, including jobs, as part of the deliberations.

All consumers should have the right to learn what these proposed mergers mean to them their families, and their communities. Any insured individual should be allowed to, in an open and public process, express their support or dissatisfaction with a plan by the major insurance companies that could permanently alter the delivery of health care in our state.

To join the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice or to learn more, go to www.consumerchoicect.org.

Frances Padilla is the President, and former Executive Vice President, of Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut. 

Tom Swan is the Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG).

Matthew Katz is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut State Medical Society.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Biden is right to think big on infrastructure
by Jim Cameron

Hurrah! It was finally “infrastructure week” in Washington. In his first 100 days as President, Joe Biden has delivered a plan that his predecessor just kept teasing us with for four years:  a complete rehabilitation and expansion of the nation’s infrastructure.

My life and every other Black life matters
by Eugene Bertrand

"My life and every other black life matters." This is every black person's motto in the United States of America. In the past few months, we've seen an increase in deaths among the Black community.

Send us the children
by Kellin Atherton

Send us the children, President Biden. Send us the children, Governor Lamont. But not just the children. Move heaven and earth to find their families. Find mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Children are coming here alone. Find someone to ease their loneliness and bring them too.

Lobbyist uses seniors and people with disabilities to protect drug company profits
by Ellen M. Andrews

Reading William Smith’s opinion (Connecticut must protect vulnerable populations from biased and discriminatory healthcare practices, April 13, 2021), I was worried that my state had passed draconian laws that were harming the health of seniors and people with disabilities. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Our anti-discrimination laws are still in place and functioning.

Redistricting in Connecticut 2021: It is worth your attention
by Patricia Rossi

This is the year for redistricting in the United States. Maps drawn in 2021 will define which voters can vote for which candidates for the next ten years.  That means ensuring that the 2021 maps are fair and representative of their communities is critically important.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Biden is right to think big on infrastructure
by Jim Cameron

Hurrah! It was finally “infrastructure week” in Washington. In his first 100 days as President, Joe Biden has delivered a plan that his predecessor just kept teasing us with for four years:  a complete rehabilitation and expansion of the nation’s infrastructure.

Opinion My life and every other Black life matters
by Eugene Bertrand

"My life and every other black life matters." This is every black person's motto in the United States of America. In the past few months, we've seen an increase in deaths among the Black community.

Opinion Send us the children
by Kellin Atherton

Send us the children, President Biden. Send us the children, Governor Lamont. But not just the children. Move heaven and earth to find their families. Find mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Children are coming here alone. Find someone to ease their loneliness and bring them too.

Opinion Lobbyist uses seniors and people with disabilities to protect drug company profits
by Ellen M. Andrews

Reading William Smith’s opinion (Connecticut must protect vulnerable populations from biased and discriminatory healthcare practices, April 13, 2021), I was worried that my state had passed draconian laws that were harming the health of seniors and people with disabilities. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Our anti-discrimination laws are still in place and functioning.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO