Health insurance companies are setting rates right now for next year. But while federal regulators know what rates companies are seeking, you don’t have a clue. Even though the law says these rates, and the reasons insurers use to set them, must be made public!
Because we all are in the dark, Consumers Union can't effectively fight unjustified rate hikes before they are put in place. And without transparency, we can't know if insurance companies are overcharging. Ultimately, without this information, none of us can fight to keep health-care costs down.
Tell HHS Secretary Burwell to release next year’s insurance rates before she leaves office -- and hold insurance companies accountable!
To Secretary Burwell:
To hold health insurance companies accountable and stop unjustified price increases, it's vital that insurance rates and the underlying reasons for those rates be made public before they go into effect. Yet your department has not released rate information since 2012, making it impossible for consumers to oppose unfair rate hikes.
Rate transparency is required by the Affordable Care Act; is critical to keeping health costs down; and is an effective way to hold insurance companies accountable to consumers.
To make sure the public can effectively review and comment on these proposed rates, I ask that you release as soon as you get:
-- Proposed rates for 2015, and insurer justification for rate increase.
-- All the underlying data to justify these rates, including estimates, projections, assumptions and projections the actuary makes to produce a rate.
Thank you for taking prompt action to release health insurance rates, and doing your part to keep health costs down and hold insurance companies accountable to consumers.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
