Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California thinks the federal government should be allowed to hold the line against the rising cost of health insurance.
Feinstein has introduced a bill that would let the Health and Human Services secretary reject excessive rate hikes in states that don’t have that authority.
Regulators in California and 14 other states lack the ability to block health insurance premium increases they consider to be unreasonable.
Carmen Balber, executive director of the non-profit Consumer Watchdog, said homeowners and car insurance premiums are regulated in California.
“There’s no logical argument for why health insurance companies shouldn’t simply be required to make the same justifications, and get the thumbs up from a regulator before they raise insurance rates," Balber said.
Consumer Watchdog was the chief backer of Prop. 45, a failed 2014 ballot measure that would have given the California insurance commissioner the authority to block excessive health insurance rate hikes.
Balber argues the need for such a change is still acute.
Just last week in California, Aetna raised premiums an average of 27.4 percent on small business health plans.
While Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones called the increase unreasonable and unwarranted, he did not have the power to stop it.
