Health Plans Would Add to Controls on Insurers - NYTimes.com

By ROBERT PEAR Published: May 15, 2009

WASHINGTON — The government could rein in aggressive marketing practices of health insurance companies, regulate their premiums and allow workers to drop out of group health plans to seek a better deal on their own under legislation being developed by leading Democratic senators.

The Senate proposals, which emerged this week, are broadly similar to ones being drafted by the chairmen of three House committees. Democrats in both houses would vastly expand federal regulation of insurance to guarantee that all Americans have access to affordable coverage, a top priority of President Obama.

Lawmakers have not figured out how to pay for their proposals, which could easily cost more than $1 trillion over a decade. And they have not resolved the politically explosive question of whether to create a public insurance program, to compete with private insurers.

But after a week of intense discussions, in which members of the House and the Senate immersed themselves in the details of health care, Democrats began to line up in favor of several basic ideas.....

Health Plans Would Add to Controls on Insurers - NYTimes.com