Forty-five states and the District of Columbia will each receive $1 million to help improve health premium oversight, the Department of Health and Human Services announced this week.

The money in this round of grants will boost authority on the state level to reject rate hikes that are deemed excessive.

Only 26 states and the District of Columbia have the authority to reject a proposed increase that is excessive, lacks justification or otherwise exceeds state standards. But many states that do have the authority lack resources to exercise it meaningfully, HHS reports, and this lack of authority and resources for states has contributed to unjustified premium increases in some states. On average, health insurance premiums have doubled over the past decade.

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