While the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will review United Healthcare’s provider networks following the insurance company’s decision to eliminate a significant number of doctors from its Medicare Advantage Plan networks beginning next year, Attorney General George Jepsen said today that the federal regulators need to do more to support vulnerable patients affected by the terminations.

Connecticut, with 36 other states and the District of Columbia, has reached a $17 million agreement with Google, Inc. to resolve allegations that the company circumvented default privacy settings pertaining to cookie blocking in Safari Web browsers, Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein announced today.

"We believe this review is critically important, and we look forward to participating in this proceeding.”

In a letter sent today, Attorney General George Jepsen has asked federal regulators to “aggressively scrutinize” UnitedHealthcare’s decision to terminate a large number of doctors from its Medicare Advantage Plan network in Connecticut.

Connecticut has joined with other states and the federal government in a $1.2 billion global settlement with Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., that resolves allegations of unlawful marketing practices in promoting the sale of two antipsychotic drugs, Attorney General George Jepsen, Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane, and Department of Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby announced today.

In a brief filed today, Attorney General George Jepsen asked the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to disallow at least $90 million in storm-related costs that the Connecticut Light & Power Co. is seeking to recover from ratepayers. The Attorney General asserts that certain claimed costs are improper or unjustified and that PURA should impose a substantial penalty for the company’s broadly deficient and inadequate response to Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 Nor’easter.

Attorney General George Jepsen today encouraged Connecticut patients who have been billed for a so-called “facility fee” without notice from their healthcare provider when receiving medical treatment, or who were told they would be charged a facility fee but were not told the amount or experienced difficulty in learning the amount of the facility fee, to submit a complaint to his office using a new form.

In a brief filed today, Attorney General George Jepsen has joined with 11 other state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to recognize disparate impact claims under the federal Fair Housing Act.

Attorney General George Jepsen has initiated an antitrust lawsuit against three companies and their key executives over allegations that they engaged in an illegal boycott and bid-rigging conspiracy involving snow removal and snowplowing services for the town of Southbury.

Attorney General George Jepsen has named Assistant Attorney General Antoria D. Howard of Bloomfield as Associate Attorney General for Administration and Management. Assistant Attorney General Ann E. Lynch will assume the role of head of the Employment Rights Department.

Making sure teen drivers are safe drivers is the focus of National Teen Driver Safety week in Connecticut, but communities, parents and teens need to be reminded that vehicle passengers are also responsible for keeping crashes from happening and avoiding injury.

Connecticut’s distressed homeowners have another opportunity to explore loan modification and foreclosure prevention options with their lenders at a day-long, state-sponsored forum on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein announced today that the state has joined with 46 other states and the District of Columbia in a settlement with Stamford-based Affinion Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Trilegiant Corporation and Webloyalty.com, Inc., to settle allegations that the companies misled consumers into signing up and paying for discount clubs and memberships.

Attorney General George Jepsen has named Perry Zinn Rowthorn of West Hartford as Deputy Attorney General for the state of Connecticut. Current Associate Attorney General for Administration and Management Margaret Q. Chapple of Granby will assume the position of Associate Attorney General for Litigation.

Meriden-based Ace Oil Co. has closed its doors, and customers should seek an alternate home heating oil supplier for future deliveries, Attorney General George Jepsen and Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein announced today.