California insurance commissioner asks more insurers to delay rate hikes

Last week the new insurance chief asked Blue Shield Of Califorina to delay its increase. This week his attention includes Anthem, Aetna and PacifiCare.

Los Angeles Times: California Insurance Chief Expands Inquiry Into Healthcare Rate Hikes
California's new insurance commissioner has expanded his inquiry into rate hikes by major insurers, calling on them to delay pending increases for 60 days while he examines paperwork submitted to his office (Helfand, 1/12).

The Sacramento Bee: Jones Asks Anthem, Aetna, PacifiCare To Delay Rate Hikes
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones sent letters to three other health insurance companies on Tuesday asking the insurers to delay rate increases on thousands of Californians. The requests to delay the rate hikes by at least 60 days follow a similar request Jones sent last week to Blue Shield of California, which said it would raise rates by as much as 59% on nearly 200,000 customers who buy coverage on their own (Calvan, 1/12).

San Francisco Chronicle: Insurance Commissioner Calls On More Health Insurers To Delay Hikes
Just as Blue Shield of California appeared to be making itself the latest poster child for ill-timed health insurance rate hikes, new Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today sent letters out to three more insurers — Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross and PacifiCare — calling on each of them to hold off on proposed premium increases for 60 days (Colliver, 1/11).