Blue Shield of California eyes 59 percent rate explosion

Health care insurance is an costly proposal, and Blue Shield of California wants its to be even higher. The Los Angeles Times accounts that Blue Shield wants the huge spike of up to 59 percent for its policyholders to go into effect on March 1. Numerous thousands of customers would be impacted by the rate change. This hike without any doubt will be sending many Blue Shield customers running for payday loans in order to pay their premiums.

Is the Blue Cross ruling something seen already by the Blue Shield of California?

Californians hope that Blue Shield of California will learn from history. It failed to pass, but the Anthem Blue Cross tried to make a 39 percent rate hike for 700,000 Californians less than a year ago. Yet the costs of health care continue to rise, and the corruption of over-billing is alive and well.

“We raise rates only when absolutely necessary to pay the accelerating cost of medical care for our members,” said a Blue Shield of California representative.

The average insurance rate hike would be between 30 and 35 percent

There's usually a 30 to 35 percent increase for 193,000 Blue Shield of California customers on average even though it seems dramatic to create a 59 percent insurance premium. However, one in four customers would be affected by a 50-plus percent increase over the next five months.

Newly elected state Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones expects to be tested early, thanks to the proposed Blue Shield of California premium increases.

“Blue Shield’s increases poses the same problem posed by Anthem Blue Cross last year and other health insurers as well,” said Jones. “My hope would be that Blue Shield would reexamine these rate hikes, particularly in the face of the impact they are having on individual policyholders.”

The accounting going into it

Blue Shield of California may not be successful at first. The health insurance premium hike will be bad at first even. In 2011, Blue Shield spokesman Ton Epstein said that "tens of millions of dollars on individual business" will be lost by the company.

Information from

LA Times

latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-fi-insure-rates-20110106,0,6975599.story

Blue Shield needs more money to make commercials like this

youtube.com/watch?v=l5qZSsrJ4QA