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Thursday, July 1, 2010

Rate Increases are Studied Before Approval

The Los Angeles Times (7/1, Helfand) reports, "Embattled health insurer Anthem Blue Cross is reviving its plan to raise rates for tens of thousands of California policyholders, some of whom could see their premiums rise as much as 20%." The state's "largest for-profit insurer submitted new rates Wednesday amid pressure to scale back increases of as much as 39% that had provoked fury from consumers, lawmakers and even President Obama." Meanwhile, "California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has hired an actuary to study rate filings submitted by Anthem, Aetna, Inc. and Blue Shield of California. Poizner announced Wednesday that he was making the filings public on the insurance department's website," and "a fourth insurer, Health Net, Inc., also will undergo additional scrutiny once it files new rates."
The San Francisco Chronicle (7/1, Colliver) notes that the proposed rates "would raise health premiums by an average of 14 percent, and as much as 20 percent, for thousands of California consumers."

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