Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Chingyu Wang-Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told reporters Friday that the rising cost of health care premiums does not mean that health care reform is not working.

"The purpose of this is to slow the growth. Premium rates are going to continue to go up, they are just not going to go up at the unsustainable pace they were," Franken said.

"[A higher premium] doesn't mean that we didn't bring down the growth of the premium," Franken added.

Franken pointed out that a provision in the new law requiring insurance providers to put at least 80% of premiums toward actual health services, instead of marketing campaigns, salaries or administrative costs, is expected to help curb increases.

Schakowsky added that measures in the law to boost transparency will also play a role in stemming costs. According to the Illinois Congresswoman, insurance providers will be required to provide customers with the justifications for rate increases. Schakowsky noted that companies that fail to provide this service will be banned from participating in the insurance exchanges set up through the law.