Outgoing Insurance Commissioner Calls For Rate Hike Public Hearing

Outgoing Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan has called a public hearing on a new rate case requested by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. The health insurer wants to raise rates on existing policies by 20%. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

Controversy erupted around Commissioner Sullivan’s previous decision to allow a 47% hike in rates for new policies written in the individual market by Anthem. This latest request covers existing policies, that are not subject to the new mandates in federal healthcare legislation.

Much of the previous criticism centered around the decision not to hold a public hearing on the rate case – now Sullivan says for this new request, there will be a hearing on November 17th. That’s five days after he quits the department to move to a new private sector job. He hasn’t commented on whether the intense pressure over the Anthem rate case played into his decision to resign.

Karen Scheussler is director of Citizens for Economic Opportunity, a partnership of labor unions that asked Governor Rell to remove Sullivan. She says the Anthem hearing is a last minute change of heart for Sullivan.

“He has continually rubberstamped their requests for rate increases. There was legislation last year that would have required a hearing if insurance companies wanted to raise their rate by more than 10% in the individual market. And he testified at the hearing and called the bill severely flawed. I have been in meetings with him when he’s said he’s opposed to having public hearings.”

Sullivan will leave to work for accounting giant PriceWaterhouseCoopers. In his new role, he’ll be helping businesses to comply with upcoming federal financial regulation.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.