GAO-Private Health Insurance: State Oversight of Premium Rates

This GAO report describes:

• States' practices for overseeing health insurance premium rates in 2010, including the outcomes of premium rate reviews; and
• Changes that states that received HHS rate review grants have begun making to enhance their oversight of premium rates.

GAO found that in 2010, oversight of health insurance premium rates, primarily reviewing and approving or disapproving rate filings submitted by carriers, varied across states. While nearly all (48 out of 50) of the state officials who responded to GAO's survey reported that they reviewed rate filings in 2010, the practices reported by state insurance officials varied in terms of the timing of rate filing reviews, the information considered in reviews, and opportunities for consumer involvement in rate reviews.