[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 127 (Thursday, July 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4430-S4431]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Ms. Duckworth):
  S. 1667. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide 
protections for consumers against excessive, unjustified, or unfairly 
discriminatory increases in premium rates; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Rates Act. This critical health 
care reform bill would address the soaring cost of insurance premiums.
  Many factors contribute to increasing premiums, from the increased 
prevalence of chronic disease to the consolidation of the insurance 
market. But no matter the root cause of premium hikes, it is important 
that rate increases are reviewed to ensure they are fair. When 
consumers see insurance premiums increase by double digits, it can add 
an additional burden on top of

[[Page S4431]]

mortgage payments, childcare, and student loans. If rates are 
unreasonable, they should be blocked or modified.
  The Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Rates Act would allow the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services to act on behalf of consumers to 
protect them against egregious increases in health insurance rates in 
States that do not take this action.
  In California and several other States across the Nation, State 
regulators lack the authority to block or modify extreme health 
insurance rate increases. This legislation does not change any State's 
ability to take this action. Rather, it simply allows the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to help fill in the gaps in the health care 
regulatory space so consumers in all States would have adequate 
protections against this type of price gouging.
  The Affordable Care Act slowed the growth of premium increases and 
improved the value of health insurance--including how much of premiums 
insurers must spend on actual medical care and ensuring rate increases 
are at least reviewed. These were good first steps, but more needs to 
be done. Far too many Americans are facing rate increases and full 
consumer protections must be in place to ensure that prices reflect 
true cost and not simply profits. Providing all Americans with 
affordable, quality healthcare is of the utmost importance and Congress 
ought to be building on the successes of the Affordable Care Act while 
making improvements where necessary.
  This bill provides a straightforward, direct enforcement mechanism to 
ensure that insurers may not impose unreasonably high costs on 
consumers, by empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 
step in when State regulators do not, or are unable to.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to protect Americans 
from unreasonable rate hikes and move toward real, commonsense health 
care solutions.
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