Health insurance provider ConnectiCare plans to stop selling new fully-insured small-group plans later this week as it begins to move away from the market where it currently insures more than 20,000 Connecticut residents.
The change will begin Thursday, Dec. 1, and the provider will stop making fully-guaranteed small-group plans for new customers, a spokesperson said Monday. The provider will continue to offer updates to small groups of customers whose plans are valid through his May 1, 2023.
In a statement, ConnectiCare spokesperson Kimberly Kann said the decision to exit the fully guaranteed small employer market was a difficult one.
“This decision was taken after a thorough actuarial and financial investigation revealed that we could no longer offer a competitively priced and fully insured small employer product in this market. she said.
ConnectiCare will continue to offer products for small employers under its Fixed Funding Solutions program, the statement said.
The departure comes months after ConnectiCare and other providers sparked outrage by calling for higher number rates for individual and small business plans. In July, ConnectiCare called for a 29.3% increase in prices for small group plans. The state insurance department ultimately approved a 15% increase.
At an insurance sector hearing in August, ConnectiCare president Karen Moran said the company needed to withstand more than $65 million in losses over the past year and to keep up with rising health care costs. claimed.
“For an insurance program to be sustainable, it must have sufficient fees to cover claims payments and the administrative costs of running the program,” Moran said. “Last year, the total amount of premiums we received was much less than we actually funded.”
ConnectiCare’s departure from the fully insured small group market has implications for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, which has partnered with ConnectiCare to offer plans to its members.
CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said on Tuesday that ConnectiCare’s move follows similar market exits by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care earlier this year and Aetna in 2018.
“What does this mean for our business, especially small businesses in Connecticut that are primarily participants in the fully-insured healthcare market?” said Depentima. “It just leaves them with a handful of careers and we really need to see what they have to offer for healthcare.”
DiPentima said rising medical costs are one of the most common concerns for Connecticut business owners, along with staffing shortages and energy costs. He said he hopes the state will consider proposals to reduce the cost of providing health insurance, such as permitting association health plans and reducing mandates for health insurance companies.
“I think we can solve it,” says DiPentima. “When you look at what other states are doing to keep health care costs down, there are some great best practices.”
The ConnectiCare news comes just days after the Connecticut Department of Health, The Healthcare Advocate, and the Office of Health Strategy hosted joint hearings to identify drivers of rising costs for medical care and health insurance.
“Healthcare affordability is critical to the health and outcomes of Connecticut residents and the longevity and effectiveness of our health care system,” state health care advocate Ted Doolittle said in a statement. rice field.
Hearings will be held Thursday at the Legislative Building in Hartford and will include testimony from health care providers, insurance companies, pharmacies and academics.
