Editorial: Legislature Should Pass Insurance Oversight Bill

A Los Angeles Times editorial argues that California lawmakers should pass a bill -- AB 52, by Assembly member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) -- to give health insurance regulators "the power to review new rates before they [go] into effect and reject premiums that were excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory." The Times notes that Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones (D) has said the bill "would let regulators combat the cycle of ever-increasing premiums by pressing insurers to strike better deals with providers," adding that such deals might include "new risk-sharing arrangements that reward providers for keeping patients healthy."

• "Watching the Health Insurers" (Los Angeles Times, 4/26).