California officials are cracking down on unnecessary and unfair premium rate increases. According to Examiner.com, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that any major insurance company filing for a rate increase will be reviewed closely under strict new rules. The review will be conducted by an independent company.

According to reports, 90 percent of California’s health insurance market is controlled by four companies: Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Health Net and Blue Shield of California. This new review policy comes in place after Blue Cross’s announcement last spring that it would raise rates by as much as 39 percent on individual policies. Poizner hired outside actuaries to determine if the rate hikes were justified and according to that review, significant mathematical errors were uncovered. Blue Cross’s rate increases never went through.

The review of Blue Cross was conducted by Axene Health Partners. Axene is now reviewing rate increases submitted by Aetna and Blue Shield. Many hope this new step will eliminate unnecessary rate increases for Californians.