Clinton vows crackdown on insurers to limit out-of-pocket costs

Hillary Clinton is promising to “build on” ObamaCare with new proposals that would crack down on insurers to limit premium hikes and halt rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

The Democratic presidential front-runner unveiled a sweeping plan Wednesday that would give lawmakers more power to reject rate hikes, scrutinize proposed mergers between insurance giants and “shine a light” on prices for medical services.

{mosads}”With deductibles rising so much faster than incomes, we must act to reduce the out-of-pocket costs families face,” Clinton said in a statement Wednesday, marking her third straight day focusing on healthcare policy.

In a direct hit on insurance companies, the former secretary of State’s plan promises to give states more authority to block “excessive” premium increases — part of ObamaCare that has been optional for states.

She also vows to “be vigilant to prevent consolidation that harms consumers” — an indirect reference to a pair of proposed mergers between four of the country’s largest healthcare companies.

The two takeover deals — Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana — are expected to take more than a year to approve, likely becoming a problem for the next administration. So far, the Obama administration has been quiet about the proposed mergers, which critics have blamed on the healthcare law.

Clinton’s aggressive approach to regulating insurers comes one day after a speech focusing on prescription drug costs, in which she took a similarly firm stance against insurers and pharmaceutical companies.

The insurance industry’s top lobby group, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), quickly rebuked Clinton’s proposed policies.

A spokeswoman for AHIP argued that the healthcare law has already capped out-of-pocket costs and imposed new restrictions on premium increases.

“What the law didn’t do is address underlying health care costs,” spokeswoman Clare Krusing wrote in a statement, while condemning extra costs for insurers under the law such as the health insurance tax.

The Obama administration also weighed in on Clinton’s proposed healthcare platform for the first time Wednesday.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest argued that ObamaCare has helped to limit growth of healthcare spending, but acknowledged that out-of-pocket costs have continued to rise.

“It is true that many of those challenges for our healthcare system, have not been addressed,” he said, casting blame on the GOP for blocking any improvements to the law.

“The president has indicted a willingness to work with Republicans and Democrats to try to strengthen the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen Republicans in Congress be so focused on trying to repeal the ACA and undermine this important law, that we haven’t been able to make much progress in that regard, but we continue to be open to it.”

The proposals also include new tax credits for low-income families.

Under her plan, families would receive as much as $5,000 toward paying healthcare costs not already covered by their insurance companies. Individuals could receive up to $2,500 based on their income. Insurance plans would also have to cover three sick visits per year that don’t count toward deductibles.

Both out-of-pocket spending and rising drug costs are expected to dominate Clinton’s healthcare platform.

The topics will likely also be central to Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders’s platform, though the Vermont independent has taken a much hard-lined approach to reforming ObamaCare, calling for a single-payer system.

Five years after ObamaCare, the affordability of healthcare has become a top issue for both parties. A survey released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed the average cost of deductibles has grown seven times faster than wages since 2010 — a finding Clinton cited Wednesday. 

–This report was updated at 3:40 p.m.