WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Executives from leading

U.S. health insurers sought to deflect blame for rising costs

for consumers during a congressional hearing on Thursday, as

lawmakers accused their companies of practices that reduce

competition and lead to soaring premiums.

Insurance executives ‌from CVS Health ( CVS ), Cigna ( CI ),

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and Elevance were called to testify

as millions of Americans face dramatic hikes in their Obamacare

insurance ​costs following the expiration of special COVID-era

tax credits.

Some lawmakers pointed to industry integration in ‍which a

company manages multiple stages of the healthcare supply chain,

as ⁠a trend keeping ⁠prices high. CVS, for example, runs a health

insurer, a pharmacy benefit manager and a national retail

pharmacy chain.

"Market power is ‌concentrated, competition is weakened,

independent providers are squeezed ​out, and families are forced

to pay more," said U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, a Democrat

from Massachusetts.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) CEO Steve Hemsley said the company's mission is

to ⁠keep people healthy and maintain affordability.

"The cost ‍of healthcare ​insurance fundamentally reflects the

cost of healthcare itself," he said, adding that achieving the

company's goals, "means being candid about why healthcare costs

continue to rise."

Republican lawmakers said the companies ‍and former President

Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act were responsible for rising

premiums and health costs, while Democrats said a failure to

extend federal subsidies was responsible.

"You have people whose premiums have doubled, tripled

because of the Republicans' inaction on premium tax credits,"

said Frank Pallone, a Democratic representative from New Jersey

and ranking member of the House Committee on Energy ​and

Commerce.

Annual premiums ‍for U.S. families with employer-sponsored

health insurance in 2025 rose 6% to nearly $27,000, according to

a survey by health-policy organization KFF. Medical costs have

risen more than ​7% in recent years, U.S. government data shows.

President Donald Trump has said he does not want to

reinstate the Obamacare subsidies and instead pitched direct

payments to consumers shopping for health insurance that could

be put into a health savings account. Affordability is seen as a

key issue in this year's elections that will decide control of

Congress.

In written testimony for the House Ways and Means Committee

and the ​House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on

Health, UnitedHealth ( UNH ) said on Wednesday the company would provide

rebates to customers enrolled in its Obamacare plans for 2026.