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Released: February 22, 2010

Obama proposal targets insurance-rate increases

Source: Michael Shear & Dan Balz, Washington Post (Free Registration)

President Obama will call for new government power to regulate insurance-rate increases as part of comprehensive changes to the health-care system that the White House will unveil on its Web site Monday, senior officials said.

The proposal—part of a package that a top official said will serve as a “starting point” for the bipartisan health summit Thursday—comes as Obama has pointed to recent rate increases as evidence that his proposed changes are necessary.

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius drew attention to a California health insurance company, Anthem Blue Cross, which planned rate increases of up to 39 percent. The new proposal, which a White House official described Sunday night, would give Sebelius new authority to oversee, and potentially block, rate increases that are deemed unfair.

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