Six health insurance companies were blocked premium increases as high as 40% by the Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts. Prior to the Court’s decision, the companies had been denied increases by the state’s Division of Insurance.
In response, the insurance companies filed suit and sought an injunction to prevent Massachusetts from regulating premiums until the case comes to trial. Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) stated, “Unless insurers can give us a good reason, when everything else is flat, that they deserve 20 percent, 30 percent and in some cases 40 percent increases, they’re going to be denied.” The judge in this case has directed the insurance companies to exhaust all of their administrative appeals with the Insurance Division before the suit to stop the state from regulating premium costs can go forward.