D.C. residents whose insurance policies were canceled because of the federal health care overhaul won't be allowed to renew them for another year.
The city's Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking announced Wednesday that it will not exercise the option granted by the Obama administration to extend canceled policies. The department said forging ahead with the city's health insurance exchange will provide more stability and keep rates down. More than 21,000 district residents will have to buy new policies.
President Barack Obama announced earlier this month that people with canceled policies could extend them for one year if states allowed it. That prompted the district's insurance commissioner, William White, to say that Obama's announcement “undercuts the purpose” of state-run insurance exchanges. One day later, White was fired.
