State regulators asked two major Connecticut health insurance companies Wednesday to explain their requests for major rate hikes.

Health care providers Anthem and ConnectiCare are both asking for permission to raise their rates by more than 50 percent in some cases. Anthem policies could go up by as much as 52 percent. ConnectiCare's request is between 8 and 19 percent.

At a morning hearing in Hartford, Anthem said the cost of doctor and hospital visits continues to rise. The company lamented that too many healthy customers are opting not to buy insurance.

The idea of another increase in cost had customers seething.

"The health insurance industry is a leech, sucking the life blood out of the sick of America," says Tom McCormick, of West Hartford.

One party absent from the hearing was Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, run by Frances Padilla, who says the group is so frustrated with the whole process that they boycotted the hearing.

The state insurance commissioner will decide in the next few months just how much rates will increase.