Interim Insurance Commissioner To Hold Public Meeting On Rate Hikes
Barbara Spear was appointed last Friday as insurance commissioner
Connecticut’s new interim Insurance Commissioner will face the department’s biggest issue this week, as she holds a public hearing on health insurance rates. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.
Barbara Spear was appointed last Friday as insurance commissioner, replacing Thomas Sullivan, who abruptly announced his resignation just over a week ago. Sullivan would probably have stepped down in any case at the end of Governor Jodi Rell’s term, but there’s speculation that his departure may have been hastened by controversy over health insurance rate hikes.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut has asked for an increase on existing policies in the individual market of up to 20%. Sullivan had previously come under fire for allowing a rate hike for new business of as much as 47%.
Sullivan scheduled a public hearing for the latest rate case for this Wednesday, but it’s Spear who will have to conduct the session. She was previously director of consumer services in the department. It’s likely she’ll only serve until the beginning of the new year—incoming governor Dan Malloy has the right to name a new permanent commissioner.
For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.
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unconscionable Anthem rate hikes
As some know by now, Acting Commissionar Spear did not show up at the hearing. What does that indicate about consideration of points of view of Attorney General's office, consumers and public officials (including myself, suggesting City of Hartford consider alternatives to Anthem for administrative and benefit services), and consumers and protesters who spoke in opposition to these unconscionable hikes?
As most imagine, there likely will be some middle compromise, still unhelpful to our state and many citizens, especially those unable to afford health expenses while Anthem/WellPoint profits.
L. Deutsch, MD, Hartford City Council
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