HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. , D-Woodbridge,
co-chair of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Wednesday won a unanimous Senate vote for a bill to add an additional level
of scrutiny for long-term care insurance rate increase requests. Language of the bill specifies that rate increase requests of ten percent or more be subject to public comment on the proposal.
Crisco
said the requirement for a public symposium applies to individual
and group insurance policies, whether they are provided by insurance
companies, Health Maintenance Organizations or any other
insurance provider.
“The two most important aspects of this initiative are improved transparency in the insurance rate increase approval process, and consumer protection in terms of a public forum in which those directly impacted by the prospective rate increase can describe what it would mean to them,” Crisco said.
“This legislation builds upon the law enacted two years ago to shine the light of day onto the state’s insurance rate approval process.”
Crisco
said the bill, should it become law, would require the commissioner
of the state Insurance Department to schedule a symposium within 60 days
of the original request for higher rates, and do so within five days of
that request.
“I was struck by testimony provided by the American Association of Retired Persons to suggest that states allowing public input during the rate approval process are more successful in containing those rate increases,” Crisco said.
“This bill is not intended to deny insurers their reasonable rate increase requests, but simply to allow both sides of the matter to be heard and considered by regulators in the commissioner’s office at the Insurance Department.”
After Wednesday's unanimous Senate vote, SB808 now advances to the House of Representatives for its consideration.
This information is from a press release from Crisco's office.
