The new California insurance commissioner and the secretary of the U.S. Health Department are working to prevent Blue Shield of California from implementing a rate increase of up to 59%.

Dave Jones

The increases on individual health insurance premiums for tens of thousands of state residents is facing a similar challenge to the proposed 39% increase sought by Anthem in the state last year. Congressional Democrats used Anthem’s request to justify the need to pass federal health reform legislation.

Dave Jones, the new California insurance commissioner, sent a letter to Blue Shield, asking that it refrain from moving forward with its rate increase for at least 60 days beyond the March 1 effective date.

“I find it stunning that Blue Shield would seek to impose such massive premium increases on policyholders during these troubling economic times,” Jones said in a statement. “These premium increases will impose significant financial burdens on struggling families and, in some cases, will lead to the loss of health care coverage altogether.”

Under California law, the insurance commissioner cannot reject what Jones described as an “excessive” rate increase.

Jones wants to delay the implementation of the increase so he can fully review it, he said in the statement. Efforts to give the insurance commissioner rate review authority have failed, but Jones vowed to continue his fight for passage of a law.

When the Anthem rate request underwent a full review, calculation errors were found, causing the insurer to withdraw the request.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that her office is working with Jones “and know he is doing everything in his power to help consumers.” She added that Californians “have a right to be concerned when they see this kind of rate increase month after month.”

Sebelius also argued against calls that the health reform law, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed in March, is the cause for the large rate increase.

“Some have incorrectly claimed that this increase were the result of the health care law,” Sebelius said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Blue Shield pointed out in their statement this morning that their increases are not the result of the Affordable Care Act.”

Sebelius said insurers’ imposing large rate increases “without public scrutiny would be the wave of the future without the Affordable Care Act.

“If the law were repealed, we would be left with few tools to protect consumers against these kinds of rate increases,” she said. “Insurers would be able to spend more on profits, marketing, and CEO bonuses, instead of care. Families and small businesses would lose their ability to negotiate more competitive rates in the Exchanges, and insurers would again be able to deny coverage to children based on their pre-existing health conditions.”