WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius says her criticism of rate increases by health insurance companies wasn't an example of "thuggery."
Sibelius defends her position about the increases in an opinion piece published in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.
Sibelius wrote that the Affordable Care Act passed by Congress this year requires her to review large premium increases and identify those that are deemed unreasonable.
She accused a "handful of insurers around the country" of blaming their significant rate increases on the new law even though the facts show that the impact of the law on premiums is small.
"In the last two weeks my department has been accused of "thuggery" (this editorial page) and "Soviet tyranny" (Newt Gingrich)," Sibelius wrote.
"If critics really want to go back to the old days when insurance companies ran wild with no accountability, they should have the courage to say so openly."
