Sen. Feinstein Calls for HHS Power Over Insurance Rates
"The federal health care reform law took critical first steps to control health insurance premium increases, but it does not grant explicit authority to regulators to block or modify egregious rate increases," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) writes in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece. "This is a loophole we must close," Feinstein adds, continuing, "I have reintroduced the Health Insurance Rate Review Act of 2011" (S 137) that would grant the HHS secretary "the authority to block or modify health insurance premium increases that are unjustified."
- "State Needs Protection From Health Rate Hikes" (Feinstein, Sacramento Bee, 6/4).