Comptroller: Cigna CEO Threat To Leave Connecticut Killed Public Health Bill

Legislation to establish government-subsidized health care in Connecticut is dead following a threat by the chief executive officer of Cigna Corp. that the Bloomfield insurer would leave Connecticut if lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont enact the measure, Comptroller Kevin Lembo said Wednesday.

A spokesman for Cigna said the insurer lobbied hard against the bill, but denied that any threat was made.

And two top legislators negotiating details of the so-called Connecticut Option legislation would not confirm or deny that Chief Executive Officer David Cordani threatened to take Cigna out of Connecticut. But they said strong opposition from the industry, particularly Cigna, may force lawmakers to strip out from the legislation the public option portion, a major part of the legislation establishing a state program offering insurance.

Lembo told The Courant that Cordani threatened to send a public letter to Lamont that if the public option bill moves forward, "they would reconsider where they're domiciled."

Cordani made the threat as legislators and other insurance carriers were negotiating the legislation Tuesday night, Lembo said.

Brian Henry, a spokesman for Cigna, said the insurer made no such threat.

"We never said anything like that," he said. "We said it was not good for the state, the citizens or the industry."

In an emailed statement, Lamont said he remains committed to the Connecticut Option, but understands that for "legislation of this magnitude to be successful, the proposal must leverage the best thinking from all stakeholders, including the carriers."

"Cigna is a vital piece of Connecticut's fabric and I am committed to working collaboratively and constructively with carriers, stakeholders, and advocates, and I encourage other elected officials to respectfully do the same."

Sen. Matthew Lesser, co-chairman of the legislature's insurance and real estate committee, said he was a "little surprised" by Lembo's comments about Cigna.

"It was a little premature," said Lesser, D-Middletown. "I think it's fair to say Cigna is more opposed to the bill than some of the other carriers."

Rep. Sean Scanlon, House chairman of the committee, was asked to confirm Lembo's statment that Cigna threatened to leave Connecticut. He said the insurer "expressed significant displeasure with the bill."

Lesser said Cigna was "more opposed to the bill than some of the other carriers."

The public option part of the bill, establishing a state role beginning in 2022, is "the elephant in the room," Scanlon said. "That was a big flashpoint."

He said lawmakers have "found consensus with all the different stakeholders." However, Lesser said lawmakers will "pause on some elements, some big elements."

"Let those conversations continue and then we're going to move forward where we can," he said.

Lembo said a representative of Cigna spoke with the governor's office Wednesday and said, "'Well, you know, if you change this and you change that and you change this and you change that, maybe if we have time to analyze that we might be able to not oppose it as strongly,' knowing full well that we're out of time," Lembo said.

The health insurance legislation would have to begin its trek through the General Assembly Wednesday or Thursday at the latest if it is to be approved by the House and Senate before adjournment June 5.

Lembo said Cigna "questioned everything from the design of the reinsurance pool to the 20 percent savings target to how I would go out and contract for the master policy.

"It was essentially every element of the public option piece of the bill. At the last minute."

Lamont and Democratic leaders of the General Assembly unveiled legislation Thursday proposing state-subsidized health insurance. It would offer coverage that meets or exceeds health plan offerings and "within available appropriations" provide state-financed subsidies for those who do not qualify for federal health care subsidies.

The legislation proposes to tax opioids, establish an individual mandate with a penalty for not participating, authorize the comptroller to establish rates for a new provider network to support a health care program and would impose surcharges on individual and group health insurance policies.

Health care executives have publicly opposed the measure. Last week, six executives, including Wendy Sherry, Cigna market president for Connecticut, wrote to Lamont urging him to kill the legislation. They said the legislation had too few details to merit the industry's support.

Lembo accused Cordani of acting more from political impulse than to protect his business.

"This is not an existential threat to them," he said. "It's an ideological threat to the CEO of Cigna."

Cigna, which had a market value of $56.1 billion at the end of the first quarter March 31, posted revenue of $48 billion last year.

Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.

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