Md. AG requests insurance rate freeze

Maryland attorney general requests freeze on health insurance rates above 5 percent

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Attorney General Doug Gansler is urging Maryland insurance regulators to freeze any health insurance rate increases above 5 percent.

Gansler made the request to the Maryland Insurance Administration on Tuesday.

The attorney general also is asking for public reviews of any such requests after six months.

Gansler says decisions about rate increases should be based on actual data after federal health care reform is implemented. He says they shouldn't be based on projections that serve the needs of insurance company executives.