February 17, 2023
Trenton, NJ – Attorneys representing Horizon policy holders New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and the Health Professionals and Allied Employees Union (HPAE), who are challenging the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance’s (DOBI) approval of the Horizon reorganization, were forced to file a motion last week to compel the State to produce documents instrumental in said approval. Horizon has insisted the documents not be released and the State continues to deny requests to produce the records.
The documents include essential information such as the by-laws of the reorganized Horizon non-profit mutual holding company, expert consultant reports, and more that the DOBI relied on for the approval decision.
“The State is not producing documents on which they rely even under a protective order,” said Renee Steinhagen, Executive Director at NJ Appleseed and attorney representing plaintiffs NJCA and HPAE. “What are they hiding? Why aren’t they revealing these important consultant reports? When the Legislature said documents are confidential they clearly did not mean to inhibit proper review by a Court and attorneys representing policyholders.”
“The State is treating these documents as if they are a national security secret,” said Maura Collinsgru, Director of Policy and Advocacy at NJCA. “Time and time again the State has failed to be fully transparent when it comes to Horizon. They appear more interested in giving cover to Horizon than protecting the interests of policyholders and the public.”
“While the state has finally provided a list of items that constitute the administrative record, it still refuses to identify all the documents upon which it intends to rely, or produce them for review,” said Jason Adkins, Esq., Adkins, Kelston & Zavez, P.C. and attorney representing the plaintiffs. “It is bizarre they are keeping key information such as the by-laws from us and policyholders. These bylaws are central to this issue – they define who is eligible to be a member of Horizon and entitled to the benefits of its statutory mission to provide accessible and affordable insurance.”