Senator Kelly Responds to Access Health’s Concerns About Remaining Insurers Leaving The Exchange

HARTFORD, Conn. – Today, State Senator and Co-Chairman of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), released the following statement regarding Access Heath’s concerns about the remaining insurers leaving the exchange.

“Over the last year, insurance premiums both on and off the exchange rose by double digit percentages in Connecticut, significantly increasing the cost of care for our families,” said Sen. Kelly. “In the last year alone, over 15,000 people who purchased insurance through the state’s health insurance exchange did not renew their policies.”

“For years, Connecticut ignored the long-term solvency and sustainability of the exchange and now Access Health is questioning if it will have any insurers left on the exchange at all, that is a scary question,” said Sen. Kelly. “I want to be clear that the question of sustainability is not a new one, in 2015 I offered an amendment which would have required Access Health to study their long-term sustainability and solvency. But instead of being prepared for these challenges – we are playing catch-up and trying to put band aids on problems that are rooted deep in Obamacare.”

“Connecticut spent $156 million to create the exchange and spent significant amounts of money to make sure consumers enrolled in plans,” said Sen. Kelly. “While making sure consumers participated was important – it’s a shame there wasn’t a similar effort to make sure that insurance companies actually remained in our exchange.”

“I am glad that others are finally realizing that the departure of insurance companies from the exchange is more than just the weakness of insurance companies, it is the weakness of Obamacare as a whole, and even though Connecticut’s exchange was seen as a leader in the rollout of the ACA, these problems are catching up with us,” said Sen. Kelly. “We must acknowledge that while Obamacare was created to provide people with affordable health insurance, this has not been the result. At the end of the day, the health care structure that was put in place by Obamacare is simply unsustainable and unstable.”

“I remain dedicated to working with the other side of the aisle and members of the insurance industry on this issue. The only way we can move forward as a state and provide a stable and solvent health exchange is to work together to develop solutions that will benefit the hard-working families of Connecticut,” said Sen. Kelly.

Senator Kevin Kelly represents the 21^st Senatorial District which includes the towns of Monroe, Seymour, Shelton and Stratford. Sen. Kelly currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee and the Aging Committee.