January 06, 2011 —
A Sign of Things to Come
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced a plan that serves as a great example of the level of government intervention in health care.
As part of Washington’s big health care reform bill,
HHS will now review any health insurance company that increases its rate more than 10%.
How many plans will this affect? According to the CNN.com article, “[a] significant number of plans are likely to be affected; according to HHS, hikes greater than 10 percent make up the majority of rate increases in the individual market over the past three years.”
To be clear, Washington is going to review rates charged by these companies and decide if they’re trying to make too much profit.
If the government determines the rate hike “unreasonable,” the health insurance company can be barred from “’exchanges’ – the planned marketplaces where many companies and consumers will purchase coverage plans, starting in 2014.”
In a recent survey, we asked you what you disliked most about the health care reform bill. Not surprisingly, your top reason was too much government intervention.
Your fears, it seems, are well founded.