Blue Shield cancels insurance rate increase

Source: Los Angeles Times

Blue Shield of California on Wednesday canceled a May 1 insurance rate increase for nearly 200,000 customers amid pressure from state officials and consumers who criticized the company for seeking its third rate hike in recent months.

The May 1 increase, averaging 6.5% and going as high as 18%, would have come on top of two others in October and January. Together, the three increases would have raised some Blue Shield members' monthly premiums as much as 86.5%, the company disclosed last week.

The San Francisco nonprofit said that individual policyholders will see no further rate increases this year.

Blue Shield said the cancellation will deepen the company's multimillion-dollar losses in California's individual insurance market. The company said its decision will save individual policyholders $35 million to $40 million this year.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-blue-shield-20110317,0,3022588.story

I do not recommend them.

if they leave, then good riddance. They were only in it for the money.

- Losses my ass. These people fucking thieves need to be imprisoned. Immediately if not sooner......



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WellPoint

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/25/how-much-money-do-insurance-companies-make-a-primer/

http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/05/370966/bcbs-gives-top-executives-raises.html


K&R

but the private sector drives down consumer costs! you know, because of competition. :shrug:

ellen fl

Competition here is a token sham.

...blame hospitals for the increased cost of healthcare. The hospitals blame doctors and healthcare professionals in-general (especially if they have a union) and BIG PHARMA just stands back amused and watches it all -- safe and secure in the knowledge that they can't be touched (thanks Barack!) as they snuggle into the loving arms of our government who have been bribed sufficiently by their "lobbyists."

And round and round she she goes, and where she stops --- well we know where she stops. She stops with us picking up the tab -- paying their profits -- and ultimately without insurance of any kind. Then on to the streets and our new refrigerator boxes (actually it's more likely to be a used refrigerator box since manufacturing is down) and then dead somewhere under an interstate bridge.

Hopefully we won't end up in a http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/01/news/economy/_morgue/">morgue that can't afford to dispose of ones remains.

- Yep, we've surely got "the best healthcare system in the world......."

The Rightwing Koch Bros. Funded the DLC --

http://www.democrats.com/node/7789

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x498414

If you knew this, why didn't you tell us?

If you didn't know it, pass it along!


:)

Um...they didn't save anything...they just didn't get ripped off.