The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pennsylvania House approved stricter "guidelines" for insurance sold in the individual and small group market:

The legislation, which now moves on to the Senate, would limit the ability of health insurers to consider certain factors such as health history in setting rates for those plans. Insurers could consider age and geographic region in setting rates.

The bill also would require insurers to spend 85 percent of premiums on health care. Those that did not meet the standard could be required to issue rebates to policyholders.

The bill also would allow the Insurance Department to disapprove a rate increase request, in part, because the insurer has not operated efficiently or has not controlled costs for avoidable hospital-acquired infections or management of chronic disease.

I guess these legislators think it is better to raise rates for everyone just so that some who will impose a higher cost on the system will not have their conditions considered when applying for insurance? And does anyone else find it ironic that a state agency would be tasked with determining whether an insurance company has "operated efficiently"?