By KRWG News
New Mexico – A New Mexico regulatory agency is getting a $1 million federal grant to strengthen oversight of proposed health insurance rate increases.
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department on Monday announced that New Mexico was among 45 states sharing in $46 million in federal grants under a new health care overhaul law.
The state Insurance Division is to use the grant to improve its review of requests to increase health insurance premiums and make information about rate cases more accessible to the public, according to the federal agency.
The Insurance Division is a part of the Public Regulation Commission. State regulators plan a public hearing next week on a proposed double-digit rate increase for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.