Editorials: Insurance Chief Needs Power To Reject Rates
Editorials from the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle urge California lawmakers to take action on AB 2578, by Assembly member Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), which would give the state insurance commissioner the power to veto excessive health plan premium increases. According to the Chronicle, the bill would ensure that increases are "studied carefully and approved objectively." The Times notes that the bill would "close a regulatory gap" ahead of a 2014 deadline for all U.S. residents to have health insurance and Californians "become a captive market for insurers."
- "Regulating Health Insurers' Rate Hikes" (Los Angeles Times, 5/22).
- "Plug the Health Care Loophole" (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/24).