Senate Committee To Investigate Insurer Pricing

TOM MURPHY

The Senate health care committee chairman said Tuesday the panel is investigating how health insurers price the coverage they sell to small businesses, which have struggled for years with soaring premiums.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has sent letters to several big health insurers, including UnitedHealth Group Inc., WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc., asking for information on how they set rates and premiums for policies covering groups of 50 people or fewer.

The senator, who announced the inquiry at Tuesday's hearing, also requested information on individual compensation that exceeds $5 million annually, according to a statement from his office.

Democrats and the insurance industry have been in an all-out struggle over the health care overhaul sought by President Barack Obama. Democrats have pushed for stripping the insurers of their decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws.

In August, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., announced an investigation similar to Harkin's. He sent letters to six insurers requesting details about their plans for small businesses and how coverage decisions are made. Waxman chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee.