- - By Stephanye Clarke

How to Submit Public Comment Online for Insurance Rate Review (2018 Edition)

By Rosana G. Ferraro |

It’s rate review season, when the Connecticut Insurance Department goes over the rate requests of insurers who will be selling individual and small group plans next year.  If you will be impacted, you may have received a letter in the mail – or you can check online what the proposed rate increases are for individual and small group plans.

Still have questions?  Check out our previous posts on what rate review is (which has some handy answers to frequently asked questions) and what rate review season could mean for you.

So, if you’ve gotten a letter from your insurance company that your rates are going up, or you checked the rate chart and saw your plan, how can you speak up?

One way you can be heard is by posting public comment on the specific rate filing that will be affecting you.  We’re here to explain how to do that.

The Connecticut Insurance Department has a dedicated webpage for this year’s rate filings, so you can submit your comments online.

First thing to know – the deadline!

The public comment period opened on July 20, 2018 and, according to the filings, lasts for 30 days, or until the filing is closed, whichever is longer.  For good measure, submit your comment by August 17, 2018, but if you’re just finding this after that date, go ahead and check out if the comment period is still open.

How to find the right plan to comment on

Keep scrolling on the dedicated webpage to find the plan you’re on.

For example, you’ll see something like this when you scroll through:

In this example, this is the proposed rate increase for ConnectiCare plans sold on the exchange (Access Health CT) for an individual.  The three most important details to look for:

  • The name of your insurance company
  • Whether these are the rates for on exchange (if you buy your insurance through Access Health CT) or off exchange (if you buy your insurance in another way)
  • Whether this is the rate filing for an individual plan (one you buy on your own) or small group (one your small business / employer buys).

Once you find your plan, you can click “Select” and it will take you to the right place to type in your comment about how this will affect you.

What should I say?

We recommend hitting on the following points:

  • That you are currently a member of the plan
  • How the rate increase will impact you and your family – and be as specific as you can.  Tell your story, how having to pay more will make it harder to make ends meet, or how costs make it unaffordable to use your insurance.

Keep in mind that these comments will become part of the public record, and likely will be available to be seen by anyone who is interested – so make sure that you’re specific without revealing too much information.

And that’s it?

Click “Submit Comment” and yes, that’s it.

We hope this helps you raise your voice!