Healthcare Reform and Congress - WellPoint Rate Hike Helps Democrats Argue Health Reform - CNBC

Healthcare Reform and Congress - WellPoint Rate Hike Helps Democrats Argue Health Reform - CNBC

WellPoint Rate Hike Helps Democrats Argue Health Reform

Democrats looking to revive their healthcare reform plan are pointing to the controversial rate hikes of health insurer WellPoint to show the costs consumers face in the absence of new healthcare legislation.

The Obama administration and congressional Democrats are using the company's planned increases — up to 39 percent for some individuals — as part of their strategy to inject momentum into legislation that has stalled in Congress.

On Wednesday, a House Energy and Commerce panel will grill company leadership over the increases. Committee Democrats have called on Chief Executive Officer Angela Braly to testify, but it is unclear who will take the political hot seat. It comes one day before a highly anticipated White House meeting with Republicans over the pending healthcare legislation.

"HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) and the White House are now looking for a villain to have a reason to push through some sort of bill with the reconciliation procedure, and this is one way to vilify the industry," Sanford Bernstein analyst Ana Gupte said.