Court Rules Against ConnectiCare In Lawsuit Against State

ConnectiCare, one of two companies planning to offer individual health insurance on the state's Obamacare exchange, will not get relief in court before it has to make its decision on whether to stay in the marketplace in 2017.

Connecticut's Insurance Department granted the company's request for an average 17.4 percent increase in the premiums it charges for next year's policies. However, that increase, based on a second request filed Aug. 1, is no longer what the company says it needs to make a profit.

The company filed a lawsuit against the Connecticut Insurance Department saying if it has to sell policies at that price, it will "sustain financial losses that threaten its solvency," according to court documents.

A decision, released Friday afternoon, said that ConnectiCare anticipates it will lose $20 million on the policies it has covering about 47,600 people through individual and family plans. Its executives project that next year will be worse, even though it will be charging substantially more for premiums.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/business/hc-connecticare-lawsuit-decision-20160909-story.html