Connecticut Ethics Board to Weigh Possible Insurance Commissioner Conflict in Cigna-Anthem Oversight

Connecticut’s Citizens Ethics Advisory Board has agreed to review whether the state’s insurance commissioner should recuse herself from overseeing Anthem Inc.’s proposed merger with Bloomfield-based Cigna.

Connecticut Common Cause is among the several advocacy groups and state legislators that want Katharine Wade to step aside from her office’s review of the merger. It asked the panel to issue a declaratory ruling on whether Wade should be disqualified.

The board voted unanimously last Thursday in favor of Common Cause’s request for a review of whether Wade has a conflict.

A Department of Insurance spokeswoman says Wade has sought guidance from state ethics officials throughout the process and “should that guidance change, she will follow that instead.”

Wade is a former Cigna vice president and her husband is currently a Cigna attorney.