The Des Moines Register wrote an editorial praising Governor Culver's order of an independent review of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield's recent premium increases:
Here is an excerpt of the Register editorial:
Earlier this year, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield notified thousands of Iowans their health insurance premiums would increase an average of 18 percent. The Iowa Insurance Division had approved the increases, which will impact about 80,000 Iowans who shop for coverage on their own. They don't get it through an employer.
Many were upset. They looked to public officials for help.
So Gov. Chet Culver did the right thing - and one of the few things he had the authority to do - when he ordered an independent review of the premium hikes. The goal was to take a second look at Wellmark's reasoning for the increases and the state's methodology in reviewing them.The independent review is done. Wellmark didn't do anything wrong. Neither did the state.
The findings are no surprise. Actuarial associations develop the methods used to set premiums, which are relatively standard. They attempt to predict everything from future health costs to operating expenses. Previous outside reviews of insurance increases have tended to confirm what the state determined.
So it may seem the review was for nothing - or worse, as it cost both Wellmark and taxpayers money.But the second look served a purpose.
Perhaps most important, it got people talking about the complicated business of how insurers decide what to charge for coverage. State lawmakers who questioned Wellmark and the state insurance commissioner realized the actuarial insider baseball is virtually impossible for average people to understand. More transparency is needed.
Read the entire editorial here