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Mr. Obama says health insurance companies should not be allowed to raise premium costs at will. As part of his plan, the President would block excessive rate increases. But exactly what rates should classify as excessive? Some state officials are worried about how they will determine which companies rates are too high.
State officials are concerned they would be left to police health insurance companies while federal officials pressured insurers to reduce premiums, as Mr. Obama has done in recent days.
The President and White House officials have been asking medical insurance companies to be more transparent about why they increase health insurance premiums. However, insurers are often hesitant about to oblige.
As an example, Mr. Obama has pointed to a request by Anthem Blue Cross to increase premiums for individual policyholders in California by an average of 25 percent, with some rates going up as much as 39 percent.
Tags: Anthem Blue Cross, health insurance, medical insurance, President Obama
