If President Obama’s proposal for federal regulation of health insurance rates becomes law, rates for individual policyholders likely would still climb, experts said Monday, but not by as much as insurers might want.
Roughly half the states have the power to limit or block rate hikes for individual health insurance customers. Initial increases generally get knocked down by state officials, often substantially, based on recent cases.
And holding down rates below the level where insurers could make a fair profit would only drive many out of the market, consultants and analysts said, reducing competition and reducing access ”” the opposite of what the Obama administration has been seeking.