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A new report says Arizona's Department of Insurance needs more authority to protect consumers from unreasonable and unjustified health insurance rate increases.

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund gives the department credit for doing what it can given its limited powers. But, health care analyst Laura Etherton says it does not appear all the information provided to the department is made public, including responses to follow-up questions for the insurers.

“From the information that is publicly available on these rate increases, it does not appear that insurers have adequately justified these rate increases,” Etherton said. “We are concerned that, that means consumers will be seeing rate increases that are excessive.

PIRG says to really protect consumers from excessive rate hikes, the department needs the authority to deny unreasonable rate increases.