The Connecticut Insurance Department will accept public comment until July 6 on rate hike requests proposed by seven health insurers and across individual and small group markets on and off the state-sponsored health insurance exchange.
The Insurance Department recently published the rate filings, which collectively average an increase of about 15% year-over-year. The agency will take public testimony on these requests on its website as part of a 30-day comment period, which will run through July 6.
Democratic officials have been critical of the proposed rate hikes. Attorney General William Tong noted the insurers’ requests, which would collectively cover approximately 224,000 individuals, average out to 17.8% for individual rates, a steep hike from 8.3% seen last year, and 13.1% for small group rate hikes, compared to 11.9% in 2024.
The attorney general criticized the rate requests, which he called unaffordable for those the companies seek to cover.
“Year after year, insurers demand soaring rate hikes that far outstrip the pace of inflation and other cost growth benchmarks,” Tong said. “They give us padded applications with vague references to trends that they do not disclose or take any steps to control. But insurers are not neutral or passive actors here—they can and must use their enormous influence to drive down unaffordable and unsustainable healthcare costs. And when they don’t, we need to hold them accountable and require better.”
The Insurance Department said the increases are largely attributed to trends such as the cost of prescription drugs and increased demand for medical services, adjustments to experience across rating periods and adjustments for individual plans to note an increase in cost sharing reductions among the Silver Plan membership.
The department added the rate requests likely underestimate factors like expiring federal subsidies; when those expire at the end of 2025, the estimated impact on individual exchange plans will grow by another 3.5% to 6.8%.
Members of the public can review different rate requests, which range as low as 5.9% and as high as 26.1% for ConnectiCare plans, at this location. The Department of Insurance will also hold a public informational session on the requests in August, with public comment to also be allowed then.
Open enrollment for coverage in 2026 will open Nov. 1.
In the most recent legislative session, Connecticut Senate Democrats led the passage of Senate Bill 10, legislation that will allow the Insurance Commissioner of Connecticut to reduce a health carrier’s individual or small employer group insurance requests by up to 2% if their average approved rate increase in the two most recent years with available data exceeded the state’s health care cost growth benchmark.
The bill provides other health insurance and patient protections, which include mental health parity compliance to ensure those in need receive the care they deserve and limits on use of step therapy for prescription drugs used to treat certain health conditions.
