By now most of us have heard the hullaballoo about California’s Anthem Blue Cross raising its individual plan rates by 39% or more. But this isn’t an isolated incident. Many insurers, including Health Net, Aetna, and Cigna, have jacked up their rates for 2010 due to a rapid increase in healthcare costs or other purported excuses. It may be surprising information to healthcare reform ostriches, but to those of tuned in to the accelerating US healthcare disaster, it’s old news. More interesting are the responses coming from Washington, D.C. and state politicians.

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Well at least one of the two manager’s amendments to the final version of HR 3962 could be useful. It addresses the “Wall Street Effect”, most obviously in a section entitled Sunshine on Price Gouging by Health Insurance Issuers. The Wall Street Effect was observed when banks and credit card companies were told regulations would be tightened the beginning of 2010 – they promptly raised rates and found all sorts of fees and penalties they could assess customers prior to that.

Expecting private insurers to do the same thing when faced with health reform legislation, John Dingell created preemptive strikes to ward off predatory rate spikes. Then the GOP made itself look really silly when the CBO scored its amendment, billed as an alternative “plan”.

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