Should health insurance premiums be regulated?

Federal legislators have found a major hole in the regulation of health insurance premiums before the new health care reform takes effect.

This hole could lead to even more dramatic increase in premiums than the 39% increase announced by Anthem in California in February as the health care law was being debated in Congress. Missing from that law is the ability to regulate unreasonable or unjustified rate increases by the federal government.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Labor Education and Pensions called "Protection from Unjustified Premiums," said that "about 22 states in the individual market and 27 states in the small group market do not require a review of premiums before they go into effect ... This is a gaping hole in our regulatory system."