Feds urge CT Insurance Dept. to reverse Anthem 47% rate hike approval

HHS has sent a letter to CT Insurance Department (CID) Commissioner Sullivan asking him to reconsider the department’s approval of Anthem 47% health insurance rate hikes for next year. "The consumers of Connecticut expect and deserve transparency and a fact-based rationale as to why their rates are increasing," according to the letter. The insurance department recently received a $1 million federal grant to build capacity for better rate reviews.

"HHS is therefore surprised that, after being awarded this grant, the CID has
approved a substantial increase by Anthem Insurance Company without holding a
public hearing, without having tested or validated the proposed rates and the
assumptions underlying those rates, and without publicly disclosing any data
filed by Anthem, analysis done by the CID, or correspondence between the CID and
Anthem."
Letter from Jay Angoff, HHS

Anthem and the Commissioner blame the new national health reform act for the increases, but actuaries allot increases of only 2 percent to the new act. Other CT insurers have asked for far more modest increases. No hearings were held before the department approved the rate hikes without any modification.
Ellen Andrews