California insurance regulators asked Anthem Blue Cross to delay controversial rate increases of as much as 39% for individual policies, hikes that have triggered widespread criticism. And in a rare step, the Obama administration called on Anthem to justify its rate hikes, saying the increases were alarming at a time when subscribers face skyrocketing healthcare costs. In a letter to Anthem's president, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius voiced serious concern over the higher premiums, which go into effect March 1 for many of the insurer's estimated 800,000 individual policyholders, the Los Angeles Times reports.
