After being pressured to turnover financial information, Connecticut's Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade is recusing herself from "any role" in the approval of the Anthem-Cigna merger, the Connecticut Mirror reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. Ms. Wade's lawyer Kimberly Knox said the commissioner had no conflict of interest in the deal — Ms. Wade was a former Cigna employee, and her husband is a current employee — but instead is stepping down because she was "highly politicized" throughout the process.
2. The decision came at a hearing of the Citizen's Ethics Advisory Board which was weighing whether to start a hearing, that would have forced Ms. Wade and her husband to turn over financial documents to determine if they had a conflict of interest in the deal.
3. After her recusal, neither Ms. Wade nor her husband should be required to disclose any financial documents.
4. Ms. Knox said Ms. Wade had turned over all documents sought by Barbara Housen, the board's general counsel.
5. Ms. Knox said the board had no grounds to issue a declaratory ruling because the Insurance Department is no longer reviewing the merger.
6. Ms. Wade has said neither she nor her husband hold any shares of Cigna stock, after she divested in April 2014. Her husband has a "conditional future compensation clause in the form of unvested stock and options."
7. Common Cause and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group are still urging the board to continue its inquiry.
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