http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x418522Blue Cross raising price of NC individual policies
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. North Carolina's largest health insurer plans to raise prices next year on individuals paying for their own coverage by an average of about 7 percent, the smallest increase since 2007, the company said Thursday.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is asking state insurance regulators for permission to raise rates on about 300,000 of its 3.7 million customers who buy their own health insurance. This year, rates for individual coverage rose an average of 12 percent.
Blue Cross is the dominant company providing health insurance to individuals, with more than 90 percent of the market.
The company said while some individuals will see double-digit premium increases, about 70 percent will see costs rise by less than 10 percent. Almost 28,000 customers would see rate decreases.
Customers of its Blue Advantage and Blue Options HSA plans will be notified by letter in October what their specific rate increases will be in 2011, the company said.
The latest rate hike request comes almost a month after Consumers Union criticized the Chapel Hill insurer and nine other Blue Cross health plans across the country for raising rates while sitting on big cash reserves. The company responded that it was meeting a state requirement that health insurers keep up to six months' worth of costs in reserve.
Blue Cross CEO Brad Wilson said last month Wilson said he expects to cut about $200 million from the company's $1 billion annual budget by eliminating open positions, cutting jobs through attrition and early retirements, outsourcing and other streamlining efforts. The company employs about 4,400 workers.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/19/636467/blue-cros...And More:
Aug. 20--The state's largest health insurer plans to hit some members with sharp rate increases again next year, blaming changes from the health overhaul and rising medical costs.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina asked state regulators Thursday for permission to increase rates an average of 6.97 percent for its 300,000 individual members in the state. That's the lowest proposed annual increase since 2007. About 28,000 people would see their rates decrease, including women in their early 20s.
But rates for some children, men and older members will increase 30 percent or more.
Assuming the new premiums are approved by the N.C. Department of Insurance this fall, Blue Cross officials plan to reach out to members facing the biggest increases to discuss options such as cheaper plans with higher deductibles. Insurers set rates by using a variety of factors, including age, medical history and where you live.
The latest rate increases are significant because Blue Cross controls most of the state's market for individual health coverage. It is also the dominant provider of employer-based coverage, with 3.7 million members statewide.
"If you have health care, you're going to pay more," said John McDonnell, a principal with Progressive Benefit Solutions in Raleigh, which helps employers buy insurance.
Health law is changing
Some of his clients are facing rate increases of more than 20 percent. And not just from Blue Cross, but from other big providers, including Cigna, Aetna and United Healthcare.
It's partly because of increasing medical costs and more people using expensive services, but also because the new federal health law is forcing changes such as eliminating annual or lifetime limits on coverage, expanding dependent care for children until age 26 and more, McDonnell said.
"With everything that's been added, you can't really expect costs to go down," he said.
The situation isn't likely to improve any time soon. As more provisions of the health overhaul law take affect in 2014, Blue Cross officials said they expect rates to rise further.
"We do expect significant premium volatility in 2014 as the industry moves to an entirely new rating structure," said Patrick Getzen, Blue Cross' chief actuary.
The rising rates will likely force more people in North Carolina to cut back on coverage or go without, said Adam Linker, a policy analyst with the N.C. Justice Center's Health Access Coalition. And some of the additional "safety net" measures of the federal law won't start until 2014, he added.
"I'd like to see insurers take a small hit now and then figure out what adjustments they need to make in 2014," when federal subsidies will help the uninsured afford coverage, Linker said. At that point, health insurers also will get a boost in business from new members.
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=219415
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