Massachusetts Rejects Excessive and Unreasonable Health Insurance Rate Hikes; Shows Need for Regulation to Fill Cost Control Void in Federal Health Reform

Summary

---

WASHINGTON, April 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog said Massachusetts' rejection today of excessive and unreasonable health insurance rate increases shows the need for effective "prior approval" rate regulation in every state to ensure that health insurers charge fair prices under national health reform legislation, which is modeled on Massachusetts' mandatory health insurance law. Massachusetts regulators recently adopted emergency prior approval regulations in anticipation of large insurance premium increases.

"Massachusetts has quickly come to realize that when the government requires everyone to purchase a health insurance policy or face tax fines it must also exercise real oversight of what health insurers can charge. Now that Congress has followed in Massachusetts' footsteps we need 'prior approval' regulation of all health insurance rates to make sure the prices insurers charge Americans for coverage are fair. Regulators' close look at the numbers behind proposed rate hikes revealed that, in the case of Massachusetts small businesses, increases could not be justified," said Carmen Balber, Washington Director for Consumer Watchdog.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Massachusetts Rejects Excessive and Unreasonable Health Insurance Rate Hikes; Shows Need for Regulation to Fill Cost Control Void in Federal Health Reform

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance rejected 235 proposed small business rate increases of up to 32%, citing health insurers' failure to ad...

See the full content of this document

---