Health Insurance: Another fair step

Bravo to the Washington state lawmakers for passing Senate Bill 5261, which gives the state insurance commissioner oversight of rates for individual policyholders. The Senate passed the bill in January, and the House sealed the deal on Friday.

They dropped the ball in a big way last year, when they took health care providers at their word that rates wouldn't increase. But rates did increase, by as much as 40 percent for some policyholders. All the while the insurance industry raked in record profits, sitting on an estimated $1.4 billion surplus.

Last week, it was also reported that such surpluses at one non-profit outfit in our state are subsidizing a for-profit company in Arizona. That's enough to make any Washingtonian struggling to pay for health insurance simply give up and relinquish their pricey policies.

The bill forces providers to justify premium hikes, which were unregulated for the past eight years, forcing consumers to absorb often unreasonably soaring rates.

That critics of the bill say that having to justify rate increases will serve to discourage companies from providing individual policies is very telling. It almost makes it seem like being asked to play fair would make those insurers not want to play at all, which we strongly suspect won't be the case. They just might find themselves with slightly smaller surpluses, and possibly, more satisfied customers.

Think of this as one small step in the right direction: health care reform.