State Senator Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, a ranking member on the General Assembly’s Insurance Committee, is calling on Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi to appear before the committee Friday morning.
This is from Kelly’s office:
“After stating repeatedly and publicly that the number of cancellations in Connecticut was “only 27,000” and that most of the cancellations were not due to the Affordable Care Act, Commissioner Leonardi acknowledged yesterday that his numbers were incomplete and inaccurate. Based on market size the number may be more than 50,000 and, by his own admission in an interview on WTIC this morning, only one third of these would have happened in the absence of the Affordable Care Act.
“The sharing of misleading and inaccurate numbers to try to minimize the devastating impact the Affordable Care Act is having on tens of thousands of Connecticut residents is disturbing,” said Senator Kelly. “The people of Connecticut are entitled to honest answers from their public officials; and I hope to get answers from Commissioner Leonardi at tomorrow’s meeting.”
Last week Senator John McKinney (R-28) called on the governor to order a special session of the General Assembly to avoid these cancellations. Senator McKinney and fellow Republican leader Representative Lawrence F. Cafero, Jr. (R-142) have also sent a letter to Commissioner Leonardi requesting an accurate accounting of the cancellations. Leonardi has not responded.
Senator Kelly also took exception to the fact that Leonardi attended a meeting at the White House yesterday to discuss the Affordable Care Act, but does not plan to testify before the elected representatives of his own state to share that important information about our citizen’s healthcare.
“The governor should direct the commissioner to show up at tomorrow’s Insurance Committee meeting ready to answer questions and be honest with the people’s representatives about the real impact of the Affordable Care Act in our state,” said Senator Kelly.
In the past two years, the Commissioner has made five appearances before the Insurance Committee to testify on pending legislation. Currently, he is not on the schedule to testify tomorrow.”