Non-profit health insurer surpluses: Hearings scheduled for Weds and Thurs

The state House of Representatives and state Senate are holding hearings this week on some of our key bills.

We want to:

1. Limit the rate increases of nonprofit health insurers once they build up a large cash surplus.
2. Make health insurer rate filings public,

like Oregon does. Much of the data is now considered a trade secret, meaning we can't release it.

Renew our authority -- now set to expire at the end of this year -- to review individual health insurance rates.

The first hearing only includes the surplus bill, HB 1301/SB 5247. It's at 8 a.m. on Wednesday in Hearing Room 4 of the J.A. Cherberg Building, on the capitol campus in Olympia.

The second hearing -- which includes all three bills mentioned above -- is at 10 a.m. on Thursday in Hearing Room B of the John L. O'Brien Building, which is also on the capitol campus in Olympia.