Congress Probes Anthem Blue Cross Premium Hikes
February 10, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ Lawmakers are looking into the impending rate hikes by Anthem Blue Cross and have scheduled a hearing in Washington on Feb. 24.
Anthem Blue Cross of Woodland Hills, Calif., a unit of WellPoint, is California’s largest for-profit insurer, and brokers and policyholders say the proposed premium increases are as much as 30% to 39% more than last year. Lawmakers want to take a closer look at the increases in premiums for many of Anthem’s 800,000 individual health insurance policies.
“If we don’t act, this is just a preview of coming attractions,” President Barack Obama said. “Premiums will continue to rise for folks with insurance; millions more will lose their coverage altogether; our deficits will continue to grow larger. And we have an obligation — both parties — to tackle this issue in a serious way.”
The insurance lobby deflects the blame, saying the price of hospital care, prescription drugs and doctors is propelling the largest growth in healthcare spending in more than 50 years.
Read more about this story at Healthcare Industry Today:
Latest Anthem Blue Cross news – http://health.einnews.com/news/anthem-blue-cross
Latest WellPoint Inc. news – http://health.einnews.com/news/wellpoint-health-networks
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