The Connecticut insurance commissioner was hit with a fine Wednesday when the state’s Freedom of Information Commission ruled that she improperly withheld documents related to a proposed merger between insurance giants Aetna and Humana.
The FOI Commission fined insurance commissioner Katherine L. Wade $500, according to a report in the Record-Journal. While it’s rare for the commission to impose fines, members said they felt that Wade had acted “without reasonable grounds” when she refused to turn over the documents.
According to the Record-Journal, the Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice filed a complaint against Wade last summer that accused her of improperly withholding documents related to the proposed Aetna-Humana merger. Wade only produced 33 pages of documents – an inadequate amount, according to the campaign.
Wade argued that the rest of the requested documents were exempt from disclosure requirements because of regulations that prevented the release of sensitive information in insurers’ filings.
However, FOI Commission attorney Lisa Seigel called Wade’s argument “frivolous and unfounded.”
A spokeswoman for the Connecticut Insurance Department said that Wade would appeal the ruling.
“We have been advised by counsel that the nondisclosure statutes categorically protect the documents which are the subject of these FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests,” Donna Tommelleo said in a statement. “These statutes prohibit the (Insurance Department) from complying with the FOI Commission’s directives, and we strongly believe that the courts will agree with us on appeal.”
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