ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG STATEMENT ON HEALTH INSURANCE RATE HIKES

The following information was released by the office of the Connecticut Attorney General:

Attorney General William Tong today released the following statement regarding double-digit average rate hikes approved by the Connecticut Insurance Department for Anthem, ConnectiCare and UnitedHealthcare for individual and small group plans covering approximately 220,000 people across Connecticut.

In the individual market, CID approved an average increase of 11.3 percent, down from 16.2 percent requested. In the small group market, CID approved an average increase of 15.1 percent, down from 17.8 percent.

Attorney General Tong had urged CID to take the insurance carriers to task for failing to ensure their reimbursement rates reflect actual costs of service, and for failing to show they are curbing upcoding and fraudulent billing practices by returning those savings to consumers.

Attorney General Tong had urged CID to limit requested profit margins, and notes that the final approved rates mitigated requested rate hikes by limiting profit margins to 1 percent.

"This is another whack to Connecticut families and small businesses trying to stay afloat in a sea of skyrocketing costs. Again, Connecticut families are left to drown in ballooning premiums, deductibles, coinsurances and copays. This is not on CIDby the time these rate increases hit their review, it's far too late. We need insurers, hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers and every player from top to bottom at the table to earnestly negotiate cost relief way before these rate demands are crafted. This is completely unsustainable," said Attorney General Tong.