Experts say potential benefits of consolidation include economies of scale that can lead to reduced costs, while potential drawbacks include reduced competition that could have the opposite effect on prices.
Connecticut Insurance Department
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CT insurance customers urge regulators to reject rate hikes
“Can you give us a break? I’m trying to provide the best health care for my kids and you make it more difficult each year!” one customer wrote to the Connecticut Insurance Department. “I might as well just drop insurance altogether. This is so discouraging.”
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Anthem, ConnectiCare, Golden Rule rate requests to get public hearings
Their plans cover 70,553 policyholders who purchased insurance for themselves through the state’s individual insurance market.
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Former CT insurance official Dowling to lead Illinois agency
Anne Melissa Dowling, a former top official in Connecticut’s insurance department, has been picked to lead the Illinois Department of Insurance.
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Acting Commissioner Dowling leaving insurance department
Dowling previously served as deputy commissioner and ran the agency’s day-to-day operations while the previous commissioner, Thomas B. Leonardi, traveled extensively. She was considered a possible replacement for Leonardi.
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Former Cigna lobbyist to lead insurance department
Katie Wade spent 21 years at Cigna, working primarily in government affairs positions. She will now lead a state agency that regulates what is by some measures the largest insurance industry in the nation.
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Insurance commissioner Leonardi stepping down
Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi will step down next month to join an investment banking advisory firm, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office announced Wednesday.
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CT’s individual insurance market grew 55 percent under Obamacare
Data from the Connecticut Insurance Department show that more than half the people who bought their own health insurance last year have maintained their old policies. But more than 50,000 of them won’t be able to keep their health plans beyond this year, potentially setting up a repeat of last fall’s turmoil and frustration among people whose policies were discontinued.
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After rate hike rejected, Anthem to decrease premiums next year
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s individual-market customers will, on average, see a slight decrease in their premiums next year under new rates approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department. The company initially sought to raise rates by an average of 12.5 percent, but the Connecticut Insurance Department said no.
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Do public hearings influence what health insurance costs?
A Fairfield County couple traveled to Hartford in June to urge regulators not to let their son’s insurer raise its rates. A month later, the insurance department rejected the company’s proposal. But what role did the public hearing have in that decision? Not much, according to the department.
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Insurance department rejects Anthem rate hike, lowers others
The Connecticut Insurance Department rejected Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s request to raise individual-market premiums by an average of 12.5 percent next year, deeming the proposal excessive and directing the carrier to submit new rate proposals for review.
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GAO: CT small businesses paid more than most others for health care
WASHINGTON – Federal researchers have determined that Connecticut’s small businesses and non-profits pay more than those in nearly every other state – except Alaska – to provide health care coverage to their workers.
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Anthem links rate hike proposal to Hepatitis C drugs, state law
Updated 1:50 p.m. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield officials said Friday that the company needs to raise rates on its individual-market policies by an average of 12.5 percent to account for rising pharmaceutical costs, particularly costly new Hepatitis C drugs. Customers, meanwhile, blasted the company for proposing to raise prices on coverage they say is already unaffordable.
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Insurance Department schedules hearing on Anthem’s proposed rate hikes
The Connecticut Insurance Department is holding a public hearing on the proposal by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to raise premiums for its health plans starting Jan. 1, 2015.
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Healthcare advocate wants hearing on Anthem rate request
State Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri has asked the Connecticut Insurance Department to hold a public hearing on Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s proposal to raise premiums for its individual-market health plans by an average of 12.5 percent next year.