Connecticut is gearing up for a new debate over rising health care costs, but it’s going without one of the state’s key assets in this area. Ted Doolittle, director of the State Medical Advocacy Office for the past seven years, is stepping down to become a federal immigration judge.
Doolittle is not well known to the public, but his role is important. Healthcare is a huge expense for many people, and it is difficult to analyze how it works. It’s complicated and changes every year. The public needs all the help they can get through this system, which also happens to be vital to the state economy, and Doolittle has done a great job of helping people through the process.
In that role, he contributed to legislation requiring plain language notice from insurance companies in the event of a denial. He has worked to make the system more accessible to the general public. And it struggled to keep rate hikes low, often an uphill battle, with some success over the years.
The battle continues. State insurance regulators are now weighing whether to approve double-digit rate hikes for 2024 health plans, and state Senate leadership is proposing new regulations to make the process more transparent. . A recently introduced proposal would require state officials to consider consumer affordability when considering future tax increases.
That seems to be the bare minimum. But I’m not sure if it will pass.
After many reforms in the healthcare industry over the years, it’s no surprise that the public wonders why healthcare remains so burdensome and opaque. There are many reasons, one of which is the effort to circumvent and ignore those new rules, even if reforms are passed. In his resignation, Mr. Doolittle warned the state against just such an effort.
Much has been done over the years to protect pre-existing conditions passed under the Affordable Care Act, and it has gained broad public support. But, as Mr. Doolittle warns, so-called “level funded plans” that circumvent the ACA’s pre-existing terms protection are prevalent.
“Policy makers in Connecticut and states across the country need to wake up and grapple with this troubling reality.” Dr. Dolittle said. This battle is sure to continue for years to come, not just in Connecticut.
Health insurance doesn’t have to be overly complicated, but Connecticut, historically a powerhouse of the insurance industry, has proven to be a difficult place for large-scale transformation. There are thousands of high-paying jobs in the industry that state leaders fear are at risk, and despite efforts by a majority of the state legislature to pass the so-called public Options are doomed to fail time and time again.
However, medical insurance costs and complications will not go away. States have a duty to their citizens to make the whole process easier and more affordable. Whoever takes over permanently as Hartford’s new health advocate will have a very important task.
