Stating that “too many families cannot afford health insurance, and cannot afford to live without it,” state Attorney General William Tong has asked the Insurance Department to more closely scrutinize rate hike requests submitted by seven health insurers.
Tong submitted to the department a three-page letter with comments about the rate hike requests, along with a six-page appendix providing specific questions for the insurers.
The department will hold a public meeting on Aug. 18 to discuss the rate hikes proposed for individuals and small businesses with 50 or fewer workers.
It is considering eight rate requests from seven health insurers that currently cover approximately 224,000 people, including 158,000 individuals and 66,000 small group members.
The proposed rate increases are for 2026 health plans. The requests apply to individual and small group plans offered both on and off the state-sponsored health insurance exchange, Access Health CT.
In his letter, Tong states that the “insurers are, as in nearly all of the last 10 years, requesting rate increases that exceed other inflationary and general economic growth measures.”
The proposed average individual rate hike request is 17.8%, compared to 8.3% last year, he said. The proposed average small group rate hike request is 13.1%, compared to 11.9% last year.
Tong’s letter focuses on the issue of provider upcoding and the absence of scrutiny and oversight by insurers, leading to increased insurance costs and higher patient cost-sharing.
He also takes insurers to task for failing to negotiate fees on an itemized basis.
“It does not appear that consumers are getting more value for their hard-earned premium dollar,” Tong states. “On the contrary, cost-sharing continues to increase and grow more complex, provider networks constantly change, and availability of behavioral health services is an ongoing concern.”
He continued, “Too many Connecticut families cannot afford health insurance and cannot afford to live without it. This is an utterly broken and unworkable system, and the costs — the monthly premiums, deductibles, coinsurances and copays, and the nickel and diming over fees — are only getting worse. It cannot continue like this.”
The Insurance Department has scheduled its informational meeting on the rate hike requests for Monday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Room 1A of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. It will be held in person and online, with live web streaming available on CT-N.
