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Some Anthem customers in Virginia are seeing the same kind of price hikes that produced criticism of the company in California Date published: 2/25/2010
BY JIM HALL Beginning next week, Nancy Bailey will pay $416 a month for health insurance, more than a third higher than what she's paying now. Bailey is among thousands of Virginians who are experiencing double-digit increases in health premiums from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The price increases are similar to the ones that President Obama and others criticized when WellPoint, Anthem's parent company, imposed them this month in California. WellPoint says its price increases are necessary because many of its healthier customers have dropped coverage or chosen cheaper plans during the economic downturn. "That's a portrait of the future if we don't do something now," Obama said, referring to the passage of health care reform legislation. Bailey, 59, is a clinical psychologist in Fredericksburg and a resident of Stafford County. Since she is in private practice, she does not have coverage through an employer or group plan. Instead, she buys a policy directly from Anthem. "It's the biggest drawback to being self-employed," she said. Bailey bought an individual KeyCare plan but switched to an individual KeyCare Health Savings Account plan in 2007. Anthem says its health savings account plan has one of its lowest premiums. Bailey said that Anthem has raised her premiums each year, though this year was the largest yet. "Obviously, the thing that's different if you have individual policies is you have no negotiating power," she said. Don Chiappinelli, a licensed clinical social worker in Fredericksburg, has the same KeyCare HSA plan that Bailey has. Like Bailey, Chiappinelli is self-employed and buys coverage directly from Anthem. His premium will increase by 38 percent on March 1. Anthem is the largest health insurer in Virginia with 3 million customers. The majority of its members purchase coverage through their employers or the government. But the company also markets 12 plans directly to individuals. About 13 million Americans purchase their health coverage this way. An Anthem spokesman declined to say how many Virginians, like Bailey and Chiappinelli, purchase individual policies from the company. However, Anthem's filings with the State Corporation Commission list more than 80,000 individual policyholders. The spokesman also declined to say what the average premium increase has been for these customers. However, last fall the SCC granted Anthem rate increases for seven of its individual plans.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 2/25/2010
The reality is that most people are just fine with the way things are except prices keep rising, inscluding health insurance and the cost of maintaining your health.
Maybe all the overweight people I see every day anywhere I go, and the boozers, the smokers and crackheads need to face stiff fines for THEIR behavior since they are driving the up the cost of healthcare and insurance. There is a finite supply of healthcare available, the more demands are made on the system the higher prices go..Econ 101
that almost no one opposed to health care reform can discuss it without using the phrase "shoved down our throats"? Seems Anthem is shoving this price gouge into a different orifice!
I wish people would stop worrying about it and take their meds and get better. Reform including insuring just about everybody is the only way to go. Besides, it's good for free enterprise, we are the only country that makes employers pay for health insurance. And recently, the government took over GM because of health insurance for GM's retirees. Having everybody get insurance is the only way to keep this system afloat.
increased premiums, but until we solve the problem of health care delivery (hospital, drug, medical device costs), then insurance premiums will rise. And also consider, what do you pay for car insurance and what do you get? In health insurance we want everything covered. What would your car insurance cost if it included coverage for routine maintenance and other repairs? Far more than most pay for their health insurance.
Then we don't need the 3 trillion dollar obamacare. Let's all pay ca[*#@!]
Car and homeowner insurers make too much money too. Let us make them illegal and take our chances. Look at how much money everyone will save.
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