Tester promotes bill allowing states to block increased health insurance rates

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said Monday that he’s backing legislation to empower states to block unreasonable increases in health insurance rates.

The Health Insurance Rate Review Act would allow state insurance commissioners to prevent excessive, unjustified or unfairly discriminatory insurance rates. Officials would be able to deny proposed rate increases, modify rates or require rebates to customers.

“Every Montanan deserves access to quality, reasonably priced health insurance,” Tester said Monday. “This bill will hold insurance companies accountable and keep health insurance affordable for thousands of Montanans.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced S. 137 and Tester is a co-sponsor with Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

The Health Insurance Rate Review Act empowers states to impose additional rate requirements on health insurance companies and lets state officials review all rate increases, not just premium increases.

The Affordable Care Act required health insurance companies to justify proposed premium increases found to be unreasonable, but did not provide state officials with the power to deny proposed increases. This change would amend the Public Health Service Act.

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