It barks, but will it bite? While HHS can review proposed insurance premium increases, it lacks the authority to actually stop them.

HHS has new authority to review proposed insurance premium increases, but no real power to stop them. But at least some states without a rate review process say they welcome any support. "We are borderline at market failure," says Michael McRaith, left, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. "The expectation is not that rates are going to dramatically or miraculously decline. But that rates will be more stable".