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Even as the high-level wrangling about health-care reform goes on and on, there are problems that can and should be addressed in the current system.

That’s why it’s good to see Sen. Tom Harkin digging into the high cost of health insurance for Americans working at small companies. This month, Harkin announced that the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which he chairs, will investigate the pricing practices of insurers in the small group market.

Harkin sent letters to several large insurers asking for information. He also grabbed an arm, just in case it needs twisting, by asking about individual executive compensation exceeding $5 million.

Here’s some of the wording used in the letters:

“In the wake of a news report that small businesses face premium rate increases of 15 percent for the coming year … this committee is conducting an investigation of the pricing practices of health insurance companies in the small group market.”

Among other details, Harkin asked for “a description and the source of the assumption for medical cost trend” and “a description and the source of the assumption used for medical cost inflation.”

He wants each company to provide its 10 largest premium rate increases for 2010 and “the factors used to justify such increases.”

There’s no question that small companies have seen some sky-high premium increases in recent years. It’s also clear that one or two families with medical problems can make a small group hard to insure.

Maybe the insurers can make an air-tight case for their rates. Maybe they can’t.

Either way, a next step should be taken. Either small companies need to find a way to band together to form larger pools of insureds, or the insurers should be required to adopt more reasonable pricing

Maybe the issue can be addressed by the big-picture health bill. There’s certainly a lot of negotiating left to do on that.