Opinion: State Should Reject Insurance Rate Regulation Bill

A bill (AB 52) that would boost the state's oversight of health insurance rate increases "is the wrong solution" to a "very real problem," Ronald Smith, senior vice president of the Hospital Council of Northern & Central California, writes in a Contra Costa Times opinion piece. According to Smith, "premium rate-setting by government will drive some health plans and insurers out of California," which "will decrease consumer choice of plans, and, more importantly, it will decrease the choice of medical caregivers consumers may go to for their medical care needs." Smith writes that legislation passed last year (SB 1163) is "a better solution" because it requires health plans to actuarially justify rate increases without imposing additional state regulation. He adds, "Accordingly, the Legislature should reject Assembly Bill 52."

• "Health Premium Bill Would Hurt More Than Help" (Smith, Contra Costa Times, 8/5).