California Senator Dianne Feinstein recently signed onto a new ballot option that would give state regulators more ability to have say on health insurance rates, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The measure will be through a petition from consumers, in hopes that they can get 505,000 signatures necessary to get it added to the ballot during the November elections. This is not the first attempt to pass such measures, according to the news source. There have been multiple proposals in the past several years that have not been successful, and this could lead to a long dispute.

"I am proud to tell you that I was the first person to sign a new ballot initiative petition that will reform the health insurance industry in California," Feinstein said in an email, according to the news source. "[The initiative] would require health insurance companies to publicly justify their rates before rate hikes take effect."

The state is one of 17 in the United States that currently does not allow the government to have any say on health insurance rates, and how they are determined, the news source added.

The Obama administration recently informed the Supreme Court that the Affordable Care Act would be able to survive, even if the court announces that the healthcare coverage requirement is unconstitutional, according to Reuters.

The law is contested by more than half of the states, as well as other independent groups, but the administration claims that these people have not been able to prove that Congress would need to drop the whole law for just one aspect. There will be arguments heard in March before the future of the law is determined in June, the source noted.

"Many provisions of the act, focused on controlling costs, improving public health and other objectives, have no connection to insurance coverage at all," Donald Verrilli, solicitor general, wrote in the brief, according to the news source.

However, a representative of the National Federation of Independent Business noted to the administrators that the whole law would need to be canceled if that aspect is removed, the source added.

With the uncertainty of the healthcare law on the horizon, many consumers may not be comfortable with what the future holds. Comparing health insurance quotes now may lock in a plan that works for them.

The state of Kansas does not have any plans to halt its changes of the Medicaid program, even though many lawmakers are not happy with the speed of the process, according to The Associated Press.

Sam Brownback, governor of The Sunflower State, plans to get the project in motion this year by giving three contracts to companies in preparation of the switch. The program is worth $2.9 billion, and the contract would take place in 2013.

"We don't want to hurt Kansas patients," Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer told the news source. "We want to make sure that they start getting the benefits now, and we're talking about tens of millions of dollars."

The state has approximately 380,000 people using one of the programs in a given month, the source added.

Consumers may be uneasy about the impending healthcare reform, especially if they use a government-sponsored plan. In the meantime, it may not be a bad idea to compare affordable health insurance rates, as there could be a plan that is inexpensive but has what a person needs.

Recent health insurance rate increases by Trustmark Life Insurance Company forced the federal government to comment on the situation, requiring the organization to get rid of the hike, or explain why it increased rates.

Five states would be affected by the changes, including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and Alabama, according to the release. In total, close to 10,000 consumers would witness the rate hike. The new healthcare reform rules allow the government to force companies to explain increases in health insurance rates.

"Before the Affordable Care Act, consumers were in the dark about their health insurance premiums because there was no nationwide transparency or accountability," said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  "Now, insurance companies are required to disclose rate increases over 10 percent and justify these increases."

While the federal government has the ability to question rate increases, many states have taken advantage of the power, as well, the report noted.

Even with these actions in mind, the full effects of healthcare reform are unknown. It may be a good idea for consumers to try to lock in affordable health insurance rates now before any more changes are enacted.

Health law practitioners recently announced that healthcare reform, mandating health insurance coverage for all Americans, may be the most important aspect of health law in the United States in 2012, according to Bloomberg.

The survey, which was completed by Bloomberg BNA's Health Law Reporter advisory board, showed healthcare reform is vitally important because of its many affects on all aspects of healthcare. In addition, fraud and abuse came in second and public options - such as Medicare and Medicaid - came in third. Other notable aspects that made the list were healthcare quality, health information and health plan regulation.

"Relying on their collective and comprehensive knowledge across a wide range of health law practices areas, including taxation, antitrust, fraud and abuse compliance, and Medicare reimbursement and compliance, they predicted that 2012 will be a blockbuster year for health law," said Peyton Sturges, senior legal editor in Bloomberg BNA's health division.

Those who are worried about the state of healthcare reform may want to preempt it by comparing affordable health insurance quotes. Grabbing a low health insurance rate could help avoid uncertainty.