Comment Period Open for Proposed Insurance Rate Increases
The Connecticut Insurance Department is considering substantial proposed rate increases for individual and small group (for employers with 50 or fewer workers) insurance markets. The average of the proposed rate increases is 20% which is well above what I consider reasonable, especially with inflation and high prices already taking too much money out of your wallet.
Nine health insurance providers covering approximately 206,000 people have filed for increases. The filings are for both the state-sponsored health insurance exchange, Access Health CT, and off-exchange plans.
According to the Insurance Dept.,
- The proposed average individual rate request is a 20.4 percent increase, compared to 8.6 percent in 2022 and ranges from 8.6 percent to 25.2 percent.
- The proposed average small group rate request is a 14.8 percent increase, compared to 12.9 percent in 2022 and ranges from 3.6 percent to 29.3 percent.
In an effort to help Connecticut residents already struggling with high healthcare costs and inflation, on Monday, Connecticut Republicans wrote to legislative leaders, Governor Lamont, and Insurance Department Commissioner Mais calling on them to hold a public hearing at the State Capitol complex on the proposed health insurance rate increases. Today, as Democrats join in calls for an agency hearing, Republicans are again calling for a full public hearing at the State Capitol before the legislature.
The insurers cite several factors for the increases, including healthcare trends, the impacts of Covid-19, legislative actions, and the discontinuance of federal ARPA money.
There is a minimum 30-day public comment period on all filings that began on July 8th. Comments can be filed online.