The Connecticut Insurance Department has rejected revised premium increase requests by the only two health insurers that sell plans on the state’s insurance exchange.
The revised rate requests by Anthem and ConnectiCare were made in response to uncertainty surrounding federal subsidies called cost sharing reduction payments. The Insurance Department ordered the insurers last month to re-submit their 2018 filings to assume that those subsidies would be eliminated next year.
ConnectiCare proposed to increase average premiums for its mid-level “silver” plans 34.1 percent, while Anthem proposed a 13.5 percent increase. Those rate hikes would have been on top of previously filed double-digit rate requests for next year.
The Insurance Department disapproved both insurers’ revised rate requests, calling the prices “excessive.”
Insurance Department Commissioner Katharine Wade has ordered the two insurers to revise their rate filings once more and resubmit them this week.
Part of the revision for ConnectiCare includes lowering its subsidy-related adjustment from an increase of 34.1 percent to an increase 16.7 percent.
Anthem and ConnectiCare didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
