Washington Health Insurance Takes Strong Stance for Consumers
March 2008
In the struggle to make individual health insurance available at more affordable rates, Washington state has made a bold move to protect the rights of consumers. The Washington state House on Friday voted 68-21 to pass a bill that would require insurance agencies to receive approval from the state insurance commissioner before changing premium rates for Washington health insurance plans.
In other words, no insurance agency could raise the rates for an individual policy without first getting permission from an outside party.
The bill would give state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler the ability to reject "unreasonable" rate proposals and compare insurers' claims costs with projections. He would also be able to order insurers to return excess profits to the state, instead of allowing them to keep it for themselves.
The bill's supporters hope the measure will slow rising individual health insurance premiums, which have increased as much as 20% in the past year for some policyholders.
Not surprisingly, insurance agencies are against the bill, and say that it will penalize them while ignoring the causes of high health costs, and the resulting rise in Washington health insurance costs that they feel are indicative of the health care market.
While it's true that individual health insurance rates have gone up in response to health care costs themselves, leaving consumers with more medical options and a surplus of cash is also a means of guaranteeing happy customers.
And perhaps, if insurance agencies were more invested in lowering health care costs themselves, they would be more likely to lobby for health care reform that benefits agencies and consumers.
Hopefully, by passing this bill Washington health insurance can be one step closer to the ultimate goal of health care reform and affordable medical coverage for all Americans.
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