ConnectiCare announces intent to remain in state's Obamacare market
With earlier withdrawals of UnitedHealth, HealthyCT from state exchange, state would have been left with single carrier, Anthem.
Photo by CT Health Council
It's been a tumultuous month for ConnectiCare, which started September with a denied additional rate increase request and ended this week when the insurer first announced it was withdrawing from the state exchange, and then reconsidered.
"The decision made today by ConnectiCare is welcome news as many Connecticut residents who depend on the carrier for their healthcare services will continue to benefit from their inclusion in the exchange," Governor Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday.
Without ConnectiCare, and with the earlier withdrawals of UnitedHealth and HealthyCT from the exchange market in Connecticut, the state would have been left with one insurance carrier, Anthem, for the Access Health CT marketplace, according to the Hartford Courant.
[Also: President Barack Obama asks remaining exchange insurers for help enrolling younger beneficiaries]
In August, ConnectiCare originally received a requested 17.4 percent rate increase from the Connecticut Insurance Department. Later that month the insurer said the figure was too low and requested a 27.1 percent rate increase for the 2017 plan year.
On September 2, the Connecticut Insurance Department Commission denied the amended rate request.
ConnectiCare continued to make its case.
The rates approved were inadequate, and therefore failed to satisfy the standard required by law, said Michael Wise, president and CEO of ConnectiCare, in a letter to Katharine Wade, commissioner of the Connecticut Insurance Department. Wise requested a hearing on the decision.
"ConnectiCare is fully committed to remaining a participant on the state's healthcare exchange," Wise wrote. "However, in ConnectiCare's estimation - which has been confirmed by independent actuarial experts - the currently approved rates will likely result in millions of dollars in losses."
[Also: One-third of states have little to no competition on the Obamacare exchange markets]
The insurer filed an administrative appeal to the Superior Court.
ConnectiCare faced a Monday, Sept. 12 deadline to decide whether it would exit the exchange market. Originally, it said it would leave.
However, on Tuesday, the insurer withdrew its court case saying it had decided to remain in the state's healthcare exchange business.
ConnectiCare gave no reason for its about-face, but Wise issued this statement: "After hearing from state officials, providers and beneficiaries about the importance of our plan to Connecticut, we have decided to move forward into 2017 as a plan on the Exchange at the rates approved by the Department. To that end, we have withdrawn our legal appeals with the courts and the Department, and we have sent a letter to the Exchange rescinding the termination notice that we sent to them on Friday."
Malloy said numerous state officials and ConnectiCare worked to find a solution.
"ConnectiCare has been a valuable partner in this effort to build a healthier state, a stronger workforce, and a better marketplace for us all," said Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, who serves as chair of the Access Health CT Board of Directors. "I welcome their decision to stay."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
