Kelly, Fasano Renew Call for Insurance Commissioner to Recuse Herself
June 10, 2016Hartford – State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford), ranking member of the Insurance Committee, and Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) are raising questions about Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katherine Wade amid calls for the Governor to demand her resignation. Serious questions have been raised regarding conflicts of interest and her oversight of the merger of Anthem and Cigna due to her close connections to Cigna, including being a former Cigna lobbyist.
“Last fall, we asked Commissioner Wade to recuse herself from overseeing the Anthem/Cigna merger to preserve the people’s trust in her agency. We felt that her potential conflict of interest, whether real or perceived, jeopardized the public’s faith in our state to act in the best interest of the patients and consumers who would be affected by such a large shift in the insurance industry. Today, we see that trust has indeed been shattered. As noted by press reports and the Hartford Courant editorial board, the merger process continues to lack transparency, and the conflicts of interest go deeper than we originally thought. If she had recused herself as we asked last year, she would not be facing calls for her resignation now. Today we reemphasize our call for her to recuse herself from the merger in question,” said Kelly and Fasano.
“If Connecticut hopes to restore even a shred of public trust, Commissioner Wade should do as we requested a year ago. She must be completely transparent regarding her relationship with Cigna, she should disclose the Cigna benefits she still remains eligible for including her blind trust, and she should share as much detail about the transaction as possible with the public. Because she has not been able to do that thus far, she must recuse herself from overseeing this merger.
“Commissioner Wade’s refusal to step away from the merger or be transparent about the process raises serious questions about the intentions of the administration. Is the administration putting the special interests of one above the interests of the working and middle class families that will be affected by the merger? Are they protecting those in power to the detriment of our families and healthcare accessibility?
“Any merger review needs balance between the interests of the businesses and the impact on the consumers. But in this case, the denial of any conflict makes the scales appear excessively tipped away from the interests of consumers. This is troublesome, especially at a time when the agency is about to begin reviewing double digit rate increases proposed by these very same industry leaders. We need to be able to trust the process. But because we can’t, this casts a shadow on everything the department does. If we’re going to continue to be the home of the insurance capital of world we have to be an honest broker that puts both industry concerns and consumer interests in the forefront. In light of the millions of dollars in campaign donations from Cigna and related lobbyists tied to the governor, there certainly are questions about the appearance of a lack of impartiality,” they said.
Attached: Letter sent to Commissioner Wade last year (September 2015).
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