State Senator Tony Hwang is typically upbeat and often seen sporting a broad smile, but his growing concerns about the burdens his constituents and state residents are experiencing with rising healthcare costs, co-pays, and reductions in coverage has the lawmaker working overtime as state insurers are proposing what he describes as unconscionable rate hikes.The Bee August 5, following the first of a two-day public hearing on requested rate hikes at the offices of the State Department of Insurance.senatorhwang.com, to make it easy for constituents and others to file that input.

"If I've seen one thing over the past couple of years, it's that the Affordable Care Act is unaffordable to most of the people I'm talking to," he told

Sen Hwang said that state residents who cannot make the hearings have until August 10 to provide in writing, letters of support or opposition to the proposed health insurance increases, and he has provided links on his website,

"And if people want to send their objections and horror stories to me directly, I will deliver them to the insurance department personally before the August 10 deadline," he said.

The 9 am public hearings held this week on Wednesday and Thursday were convened after several lawmakers and citizens learned about double-digit rate increases requested by the state's health insurers earlier this summer.

Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc has asked for an average 26.8 percent rate increase for individual plans offered on and off the state's health insurance exchange, Access Health CT. Anthem's plans cover 56,700 residents.

The 9 am hearing on that proposal took place Wednesday. Thursday's hearings were to hear testimony regarding rate increases requested by Connecticut-based and Aetna Inc and ConnectiCare Inc.

ConnectiCare has asked for a 42.7 percent increase for individual plans offered off the exchange, which cover 37,142 people. Aetna has asked for a 27.9 percent increase for off-exchange plans covering 6,346 people.

During the August 3 hearing, Senator Hwang testified and delivered a packet of letters and e-mails from constituents who found it impossible to travel to Hartford at the beginning of two busy workdays to speak in person. He was planning to return for the August 4 sessions.

"Outrageous. Unaffordable. Opaque. Unbelievable. Unacceptable. These are just five of the words I use to describe these double-digit rate hike proposals," Sen Hwang said, relating text from his August 3 testimony. "I traveled here because majority of my state senate district has no idea that this hearing is happening. And let me put an even finer point on that. Even if 100 percent of my constituents knew about this hearing, how many of them could take the time - in the middle of summer - on a weekday - during business hours - to drive from Fairfield County to this office?

"The answer is not very many at all. And that's simply a shame," he added.

Sen Hwang believes the latest round of rate hike requests will hurt families and businesses across Connecticut, "Because these rate hikes will act as yet another tax on the people of this state - a state that has seen tax hike after tax hike after tax hike in recent years. And because these rate hikes will add insult to injury to the many working men and women who have seen their rates rise by triple digits - more than 100 percent - over the past decade."

The lawmaker believes the recent litany of rate hikes, and the uncertainty of their scope, takes a toll on Connecticut's business climate, on residents' ever-rising cost of living, and on future decisions that impact the state's economy, business planning, investments, and job creation.

"Moreover, think of the psychological impact these hikes have on working families and businesses in Connecticut," he said, calling for the department to deny all rate increase requests this year. "Right about now, the people I talk to every day think the system is rigged, the game is fixed, and they don't have a chance."

Sen Hwang is also concerned because right now in Connecticut, proposed insurance rate increases are not legally subject to public hearings. He said the only reason this week's hearings were convened was because of significant public outcry, as well as objections from a number of state lawmakers.

He said the legislature previously supported a bipartisan initiative that changed the specific definitions of what would disqualify insurers from excessive increases, and instituted mandatory state public hearings when proposed health insurance rate increases exceed 10 percent.

"But Governor Dannel P. Malloy promptly vetoed it," he said.

Associated Press content was used in this report.