New federal grants help states monitor insurance premiums
From: The St. Louis American
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a second round of grants totaling nearly $200 million to help states develop programs that will make health insurance premiums more transparent. The new funds would also empower states to stop unreasonable premium increases.
Last August the first funding round awarded $46 million to help 45 states and the District of Columbia crack down on unreasonable premium hikes. New rules proposed in December 2010 require insurance companies to publicly justify unreasonable premium rate increases.
This grant solicitation can be found at Grants.gov by searching for CFDA 93.511. For more information, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/ratereview02242011a.html