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Health insurance rate hikes targeted
By: cnn.comPosted On: 02/22/2010 1:23 P
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The Obama administration will propose legislation that would allow the government to block excessive rate hikes by health insurance companies, a senior administration official said.
The Obama administration will propose legislation that would allow the government to block excessive rate hikes by health insurance companies, a senior administration official said.
The official could not speak on the record because the White House has not formally announced the proposal.
Word of the administration plan comes as the White House was to unveil President Obama's latest health insurance reform proposal at 10 a.m. ET Monday.
The House of Representatives and Senate have passed their own versions of health care reform. The new Obama plan is expected to attempt to smooth the differences.
The proposal seeks to put "American families and small business owners in control of their own health care," the official said. It stems from discussions that have taken place with the House and Senate, the official said.
Obama will propose changes that include eliminating the so-called "Nebraska deal," a provision worked in by Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, that exempts that state from paying increased Medicaid expenses, the official said.
The president also plans to include a series of measures proposed by Republicans to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.
His proposal also introduces a new provision to prevent arbitrary insurance rate hikes such as a recent 39 percent increase in California.
That provision incorporates legislation last week introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, to protect people from such hikes -- a measure that came after the premium increase by Anthem Blue Cross of California, two senior administration officials said.
The proposal also would give the secretary of health and human services new authority to stop private health insurance companies from increasing their premiums, calling on the secretary to work with state regulators to review rate increases and deem them justified or unjustified, according to the officials.
In addition, the proposal would create a Health Insurance Rate Authority -- a group of health care experts who would issue an annual report with their assessment on what they would consider reasonable premium increases.
The HHS secretary also would work with a seven-member board made up of doctors, economists and consumer and insurance representatives to review premium hikes, the officials said.
The board would provide an annual report to recommend to states whether certain rate increases should be approved, although the secretary could overrule state insurance regulators.
A televised bipartisan discussion on the health care overhaul is scheduled Thursday.
Obama believes the discussion "will be the most productive if Democrats come to the table with a consolidated proposal" -- what the president is releasing Monday, the senior administration official said.
Obama "hopes the Republicans will follow suit and come with their own unified proposal," the official said. "He'll be open to Republican ideas, and he hopes they'll be open to ours."
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