Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement in response to a report by the California State Insurance Commissioner which revealed that WellPoint/Anthem Blue Cross of California used flawed data to inflate premium rate increases for 800,000 policyholders in California.

            Following is Senator Feinstein’s Statement:

“The discovery of inflated rate increases submitted by WellPoint/Anthem Blue Cross demonstrates exactly why we need to give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to review rates and ensure they are reasonable.

An independent investigation found that WellPoint based these excessive rate increases on faulty assumptions and inaccurate data. These rate increases of up to 39 percent would have devastated policyholders in California if these facts had not been uncovered.

This underscores the great need for transparency and accountability in the insurance market, and that is why I will do everything in my power to ensure that the Health Insurance Rate Authority Act of 2010 becomes the law of the land.”

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