Connecticut’s biggest physician lobby is expanding its appeal to block the $510 million Unitedhealth Group purchase of the Connecticut and Northeast operations of Health Net Inc.
The Connecticut State Medical Society has amended its appeal filed last week in New Britain Superior Court to add fresh claims that state insurance regulators unfairly blocked physicians’ effort to intervene in their deliberations about the acquisition.
The doctors claim to have documents in which insurance regulators acknowledge the agency’s rules for granting intervenor status are inconsistent and therefore detrimental to the medical society’s efforts.
In addition, the medical society says it has asked Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to investigate whether UnitedHealthcare’s unfettered access to all of Health Net’s patient information violates federal rules aimed at protecting the confidentiality of patient data.
The insurance department approved UnitedHealthcare’s acquisition of Health Net in December, saying the deal will improve consumer choice in Connecticut.
UnitedHealth agreed to buy Health Net’s northeastern licensed subsidiaries, which have 578,000 members in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
Under the deal, UnitedHealth agreed to purchase the rights from Health Net to assume its commercial members as they renew coverage. UnitedHealth said it also will pay Health Net $60 million for its Medicare and Medicaid businesses.
The CSMS, and several other consumer advocacy groups, raised multiple concerns about the deal, including that it will lead to further consolidation in the Connecticut market, creating an “anticompetitive effect.”
