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Health Plans

Monday, March 08, 2010

Anthem Premium Hikes Bolster Democratic Push for Health Care Reform

Anthem Blue Cross of California's scheduled premium increases for individual policyholders is providing President Obama and congressional Democrats with further ammunition as they continue to push for an overhaul of the U.S. health care system, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Stalled Action

In January, Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown won an election to the U.S. Senate and ended the 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority that Democrats had expected to use to pass health care reform legislation.

Following Brown's election, movement on the health care overhaul bills nearly slowed to a halt.

Spotlight on Anthem

However, in February, news outlets began reporting on Anthem's plan to raise premiums by up to 39% for 800,000 individual policyholders in California.

The Obama administration and congressional Democrats seized on Anthem's rate hikes as an example of the risks of inaction on health care reform legislation.

Officials held hearings to respond to Anthem's actions and lawmakers proposed additional legislation aimed at combating similar rate hikes.

The Obama administration and Democrats are continuing to point to Anthem's hikes as an example of how increased regulation of the health insurance industry could benefit both insured and uninsured populations (Barabak/Helfand, Los Angeles Times, 5/7).

Reader Comments:
  • 4
  • 03/08/2010
  • Tom Johnson

The Anthem increase should not be ammunition for health care reform. The primary focus of the reform has been to expand coverage and reform the health insurance stucture, not to control or reduce costs. The Anthem increase is a reflection of health care costs and the demand for services that continues to rise unabated. The health care reform bill should be scrapped and Congress should focus on a more narrow set of reforms that engage the patient in the control of costs while also setting some controls on the insurance industry.

  • 3
  • 03/08/2010
  • Earl Richards

Health care can be an emergency in a life saving situation; therefore the health insurance companies must accountable to the government, to the patient and to the public. To stop the insurance rip-off, the government must be the overseerer of health care, because there are emergencies involved.

  • 2
  • 03/08/2010
  • Linda Traynor

The fact is that in CA, health insurance companies are allowed to raise their rates to whatever they want as long as they give a 30-day notice. I know because Kaiser Permanente raised my rate 44%. I contacted the state insurance board and they told me I had to lodge a complaint with KP and that KP had a right to respond within 30 days. I lodged the complaint. KP told me they had the right to do it as explained above. I contacted the state's health committee currently reviewing Anthem's rate increase. They told me they would pass the information on but that I had to contact my state senator and assembly person. I did that. I haven't heard from anybody actually trying to do anything about it. We, the People, need to become very proactive about this, because these kinds of increases are going to be the norm unless real health care reform passes at our insistence. Insurers want the status quo. It is working very well for them.

  • 1
  • 03/08/2010
  • Earl Richards

Anthem should not be permitted to raise rates during a recession, because it causes undue hardship. Anthen should lower their rates in a recession.



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