Insurers Sue Regulators Over Rate Hike Rejection

The state's major insurers are suing regulators in an effort to block a recent decision by the Patrick administration to reject insurance rate hikes for small businesses, according to a report today on WBUR:

Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy said last week he rejected 235 of 274 proposed rate increases because they included “excessive increases and rates unreasonable relative to the benefits provided.”

The insurers say Murphy’s decision will end up creating greater costs and more confusion in the marketplace.

Eric Linzer, spokesman for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, called the state’s effort to artificially cap rates “a reckless decision that is based in politics and will wreak havoc on the entire health care system.”