Anthem Postpones Health Insurance Rate Hike until May 2010

By Steve Wilip

Anthem Blue Cross of California announced today that it would postpone any health insurance plan increases until May 1, 2010.  Anthem parent company Wellpoint maintained that the controversial price increases were “actuarially sound and in full compliance with all requirements in the law.”

The announcement came shortly after a volley of criticism in recent weeks from everyone from state legislators to the President of the United States that the rate action was unfair.  Visit our last blog entry for sound bites from everyone from Feinstein to Obama about the Anthem rate hike.

The average health insurance premium increase according to Anthem is about 25% . The company claims that less than one fourth of members should see increases of 35% to 39%, the company said. They also pointed out that some policyholders will see their rates go down.

California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has been working with Anthem to delay the rate hike so he could have a third party review the rates and see if they are fair. “Should they find that these rate increases were unwarranted,” he stated. “I will immediately take action to get Anthem Blue Cross to follow the law and lower their rates.”

WellPoint executive Brian Sassi, responded, “Anthem filed these rates with the appropriate regulators in November of 2009,” he said. “They are actuarially sound and in full compliance with all requirements in the law.”

Sassi’s point highlights the question in our recent health insurance blog entry: Why Poizner didn’t react in November to these proposed rate actions? Still no word on that.

Sassi went on to say, “Our decision to agree to postpone the rate adjustments does not change the underlying issue. All health plans are in the same situation, trying to deal with the steadily increasing medical costs in the delivery system, which are not sustainable.”

The investigation, however, does not stop at the California state insurance regulators. Both the US Congress and the California Assembly’s health committee will conduct a hearings and investigations into the rate increase.

So what should you do if you currently have an Anthem plan that may be affected by these rate increases. First subscribe to this health insurance news blog so you can keep up to date with their ever-changing status. Secondly contact your license independent authorized health insurance agent to discuss your options. You may be surprised at the choices available to you.