OLYMPIA -- The state insurance commissioner wants to know why rates for individual insurance plans are soaring.

But Mike Kreidler says he's powerless to find out. Now there are efforts to give the insurance commissioner back the power he once had.

The insurance commissioner wields a lot of power with group health plans. But when it comes to questions about rate increases in the individual insurance market, he lacks the authority to find out why.

"People deserve to know 'are those rates they're being charged fair and equitable?' They can't get that information today," Kreidler said.

The law changed 8 years ago when the :egislature stripped away the power of the insurance commissioner in the individual insurance market because the insurance companies said without concessions, they were pulling out. They say it was just too cumbersome and expensive.

The insurance companies got the concessions and now insure 250,000 people on individual insurance plans.

Among the concessions was no oversight by the insurance commissioner. Now he wants it back.

Self employed people such as Mike Huseby of Puyallup say their individual rates are skyrocketing.

Huseby says last month, he was paying $503 a month with a pretty good-sized deductible.

But on Thursday, he told a Senate panel, "so we were doing that until this month when they raised it to $650, a 30-percent increase, plus they raised our deductible. So we're paying 30 percent more and getting less for it."

State lawmakers are considering giving back power to the insurance commissioner to see if those hikes are justified (SB 5261).

"This is one of helping to get peace of mind to people who are getting double digit rate increases and reassuring as to the reasons of whether it's justified or not," Kreidler told lawmakers.

Insurance companies argue the increases are justified and more oversight might cause companies to pull out again.

"The driver of rate increases is the cost of caring for an aging population that is using more services and better more expensive technology than ever before," said Jeff Roe of LifeWise. "The system may not be perfect, but the remedy proposed in this bill is a red herring for consumers that will do more harm than good."

Donna Steward of the Association of Washington Business also adressed the lawmakers.

"Any attempt to change those regulations that helped invigorate the market could be disastrous for those individuals that seek access at this time," he said.

Krielder said it's a matter of fairness. If he finds the raised rates are fair, "then I'm going to approve those rates."

"But what I do is to make sure they're not padding those rate increases at the expense of the individual insurance market. I can't tell you today whether it is or it is not being padded for the profits of the insurance companies," he added.

All sides agree the bigger issue is tackling the rising cost of providing the health care.

This bill actually passed the Senate last year, but stalled on the House floor. Sponsors believe they have a better chance of success this time around.