Here are six key notes:
1. Gov. Malloy signed the bill after his administration rejected an open records’ request seeking information about the administration’s review on the proposed Anthem-Cigna acquisition. Many watchdog groups claim the governor’s administration has been particularly secretive concerning its Cigna-Anthem review.
2. Government Malloy signed the ‘secrecy bill’ on June 17 after legislators hastily passed the bill, which was attached to unrelated dental legislation, the night before.
3. Connecticut houses many leading payers and is heading the national antirust review of the Anthem-Cigna merger. If approved, Cigna has indicated the payer may not complete the merger until 2017, with Connecticut’s recently signed law going into effect starting in October.
4. Gov. Malloy has recently faced criticism after appointing Katherine Wade, a former Cigna executive married to a Cigna official, as his state’s insurance regulator.
5. Per the new law, all documents and other recorded information that state regulators obtain from payers during a market conduct investigation “shall be confidential, shall not be subject to subpoena and shall not be made public.”
6. Opponents of the bill argue the legislation conceals vital information, thereby stifling transparency, at a time when consumers need transparency and data. However, Ms. Wade counters the bill “strikes the correct balance” in regard to transparency and privacy.
More articles on coding & billing:
ASCs reduce outpatient procedure costs by $38B per year compared to HOPDs: 5 insights
How Medicare influences commercial payers & key strategies for ASCs to obtain sustainable payer rates
10 takeaways on CMS’ updated Medicare managed care rules
