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Insurance Commissioner Will Recuse Herself in Cigna Merger Case

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade was nominated by Governor Dannel Malloy earlier this year.
Governor Dannel Malloy
/
Office of Gov. Dannel Malloy
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade

After months of intense criticism, and under threat of subpoena of her personal financial information, the state’s insurance commissioner now says she will recuse herself from considering the merger of Anthem and Cigna.

Katharine Wade is a former Cigna employee and her husband still works for the company; she had previously insisted that she could oversee regulation of the proposed multi-billion dollar deal without conflict. But earlier this week it was revealed that she had so far failed to provide financial documents requested by the state ethics board, which is considering her case. Wade now says the controversy has created an unwarranted and unfair distractions and she will recuse herself.

PayDay Loan Ruling

The state’s banking department must decide whether to appeal a ruling that appears to allow an Oklahoma Indian tribe to continue to offer payday loans in Connecticut. The Otoe Missouri Tribal Nation brought a lawsuit claiming tribal sovereignty protects it from state regulation, after the banking department found that it had violated loan laws. The tribe was offering loans with interest rates of more than 400 percent. But now a superior court judge has found in the tribe’s favor saying its rights have been prejudiced.

New Proposals Sought for Third Casino

The search for a potential site for the state’s third casino will be reopened. A partnership between the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes which is authorized to build the casino, issued a statement saying after reviewing the submissions it has already received it will reopen the Request for Proposals "in order to ensure the process is fair and transparent." The towns of East Hartford and Windsor Locks had sites under consideration already. "As much as we want to get shovels in the ground, we also want to make absolutely certain that we invest hundreds of millions of our own money in the right site," said Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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