We interrupt our regular programming to take you back to Connecticut, where insurance scrutiny remains high. Which, if we’re being honest, is our regular programming.
Just last week, we covered the Connecticut Attorney General’s request that the state pay reeeeeally close attention to insurers’ requests for higher premiums next year.
Connecticut state comptroller Kevin Lembo was paying attention, too.
In an op-ed in CT Insider, Lembo decries that more than 165,000 Connecticut residents can’t afford healthcare, which is why he worked with legislators and advocates earlier this year to create more affordable insurance options.
A noble pursuit! Unless you’re a payor. According to the article, insurers basically threw a temper tantrum at the regulation request. We’re talking temper tantrum in that kicking and screaming way that only insurers can get away with, it seems. Then they called on lawmakers to kill the bill.
And the bill was killed.
Like us, Lembo took note of the same insurers’ attempts to make health insurance more expensive. And they succeeded, though they didn’t get quite as much as they wanted.
At a time when long-term healthcare reform desperately needs to be addressed, and when many patients are struggling to rebuild their physical and financial health post-pandemic, premium rate increases continue to be approved. What merits the increase?
Insurers claim three things:
- An increase in services as people seek more care following the pandemic
- An increase in behavioral healthcare
- A new Connecticut state law that makes medication for diabetes more affordable
But Lembo is calling their bluff, saying that state data doesn’t match up to their arguments. Once again, we ask for some clarity around record-breaking profits for insurers. Where is the math? Because something’s just not adding up for us.
Lembo—if we find out, we’ll let you know.
