Proposed Health Insurance Rate Increases Met with Outrage

The move by health insurance companies to raise rates on individual plans by an average of 20% next year and on small group plans by 14% has outraged elected officials, health care advocates and members of the public who are calling on the Connecticut Insurance Department (CID) to deny the requests from CIGNA Health & Life, CTCare Inc., CTCare Benefits Inc., and the ConnectiCare Insurance Company, Inc. and others.

Leading up to public hearings, Connecticut Citizens Action Group issued the latest in their series of “Five Families Reports” which found that five of the companies looking to increase premium rates saw billions of dollars in profits, stock buybacks, and executive compensation.

“It is important to look at what insurance companies are doing with the dollars they collect from Connecticut residents,” said Tom Swan, executive director of CCAG. “Their greed is appalling. The health and well-being of their subscribers and of Connecticut residents is the last thing from their mind.”

The report found that Anthem saw $6.1 billion, CIGNA saw $5.36 billion, CVS, which is the parent company of Aetna, saw $7.9 billion, and UnitedHealth saw $17.3 billion in profits in 2021.

Noting that CIGNA CEO David Cordani made $91 million in 2021, CCAG asked “Do Connecticut consumers need to make David Cordani even richer?! We think not.”

Also speaking in opposition to the rate hikes were U.S. Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Matt Lesser, Connecticut Health Care Advocate Ted Doolittle, and Attorney General William Tong.

They rejected insurance companies' claim that rate hikes are needed because Affordable Care Act funds were due to expire, noting that the Inflation Reduction Act extends those funds.

In a letter opposing the rate increases, AFT Connecticut, whose members include nurses and health care workers, said “Consolidation of our health care system has led to excessive profits and executive compensations in our “not for profit” hospitals, pharmaceuticals and insurance corporations. These costs should not be borne by the residents of our state.”

A sign-on letter being circulated by Medicare for All Connecticut declares, “These proposals are outrageous. The state should reject them. Insurance companies bring in millions of dollars in profit. The idea of raising rates on working people, which would result in the loss of access to care, is unconscionable.”