Three Connecticut groups — the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, the Connecticut State Medical Society and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group — have asked Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade to be less ambiguous in her review of the Anthem-Cigna merger, according to The CT Mirror.
Calling themselves the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice, the groups have asked Ms. Wade to do three things: host a public hearing on her review of the merger; let "interested parties" be intervenors in the review process; and commission a study regarding the impact the merger would have on the state, according to the report.
Although officials from Indianapolis-based Anthem and Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna say the merger would increase quality and consumer choice, members of the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice aren't as sure.
Tom Swan, executive director of CCAG, believes the Connecticut Insurance Department hasn't sufficiently reviewed and analyzed mergers in the past.
During testimony last fall, the American Medical Association warned that health insurer competition would significantly decrease in Connecticut if the Anthem-Cigna merger is approved, according to The CT Mirror.