The Obama administration and state insurance officials pressured Anthem Blue Cross on Monday to justify its decision to raise rates by as much as 39 percent for thousands of outraged and frustrated California customers. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asked Anthem to explain its 'extraordinary' premium increases for its individual policyholders. Meanwhile, the state Department of Insurance demanded that Anthem delay its rate increases until May 1 to give the state time to investigate. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said last week that he plans to hire an outside actuarial firm to make sure Anthem is spending at least 70 cents of each premium dollar on benefits. The Obama administration and Poizner's office were prompted to act after Anthem members with individual policies -- those who are not covered through employer-sponsored or group plans -- were told last week that they would have to pay premiums up to 39 percent higher than their current rates. The Woodland Hills (Los Angeles County) company would not say how many people will be affected, but Anthem has as many as 800,000 individual policyholders -- more than any other for-profit insurer -- in the state. President Obama appears to be using Anthem's decision to increase rates to bolster efforts to revive the stalled health overhaul effort in Congress. In a CBS interview with Katie Couric on Sunday, Obama referred to Anthem's hikes as a reason why reform is needed. On Monday, Sebelius told the health insurer's president, Leslie Margolin, that Anthem has a responsibility to explain the increases, especially at a time when its parent company, WellPoint Inc., is earning strong profits. 'These extraordinary increases are up to 15 times faster than inflation and threaten to make health care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of Californians, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet in a difficult economy,' Sebelius wrote, adding that WellPoint earned $2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009 alone. Anthem officials have blamed the increases on rising medical costs. They said they received the state insurance commissioner's request to delay the hikes, but had not yet prepared a response. Consumers grappling with the new rates welcomed the attention given to the issue by Washington and Sacramento. Charlie Lichtman, 60, of San Francisco was shocked when he learned Anthem planned to raise his rates from $534 a month to $736 a month on March 1, a nearly 38 percent increase. But because Lichtman has HIV, he knows there is nothing he can do. 'Because of my lovely pre-existing condition, I can't go shopping around. I'm basically trapped with them until I hit 65 and get to go on Medicare,' said Lichtman, a self-employed computer and telephone wiring consultant who maintains his health with a cocktail of drugs. Lichtman is considering raising his deductible from $5,000 to $7,500 a year to make his coverage more affordable. 'It feels like extortion. There's no negotiating,' he said. 'You pay more ... or you don't have health insurance.' Tom Stillman, a part-time mathematics instructor at the University of San Francisco, called the increases 'immoral' and has already fired off letters to state congressional leaders. Stillman, 50, said his monthly premiums have gone from $318 in February 2009 to $679 in March -- a 113.5 percent increase in just over a year. Health insurers in California can raise rates for policyholders as much as they want and whenever they want. State regulators can oversee the increases to make sure they are handled correctly under the law, but have no power to control the rates. Anthem, for its part, said higher medical costs as well as a smaller pool of members to absorb the risk made raising rates necessary. 'Unfortunately, in the weak economy many people who do not have health conditions are forgoing buying insurance,' the company wrote in a statement Monday responding to Sebelius' letter. 'This leaves fewer people, often with significantly greater medical needs, in the insured pool. We regret the impact this has on our members.' That provided little comfort to Marilee Brooks of San Mateo, a widow with three children 10 years and under who was hit with a 39 percent increase for the family. 'I just wish the politicians in Washington would truly look at this problem and say we need to find a solution for the American people,' she said. 'I feel as a consumer I'm completely powerless.' 