Gov. Paterson: Insurance companys should need state's permission to raise rates
ALBANY - Health insurers would need state approval to raise rates under a proposal Gov. Paterson unveiled Friday.
Since 1996, insurers in New York have not needed approval from the state Insurance Department to raise rates.
Paterson wants to go back to an older system, saying it will reduce "excessive premiums increases" and provide a better balance between consumers and insurers in the rate-setting process.
State Insurance Department Deputy Secretary Troy Oechsner said insurance companies have not effectively self-policed themselves since deregulation.
Insurers identified $48 million in premiums from 2000 through 2007 that should have been refunded; a state review put the number at $153 million.
Consumer groups applauded the measure. Health insurers are strongly opposed.
"It basically amounts to price controls on health care," said Leslie Moran of the New York Health Plan Association.
Paterson's health care proposal also calls for doubling the amount of time, to 36 months, that employees who lose their jobs can continue their health insurance under COBRA.
The governor would also allow parents to pay to keep dependents on their insurance through age 29.
