Under an agreement with the insurance commissioner, Anthem will lower its planned July premium hikes, including increases to co-payments and deductibles, from 16.4 percent to 9.1 percent.
More talks are needed to “control the unrelenting rise of underlying health care costs,” said Anthem President Pam Kehaly. “We plan to be an active participant in helping forge that dialogue.” Anthem claims to have lost $110 million in 2010 and expects to lose millions more in 2011.
Last week, Blue Shield of California dropped its plans to raise premiums this year, which would have amounted to a cumulative increase of as much as 87 percent for some policyholders.
Read the release by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on premium increases.
Read more coverage on efforts to stop premium increases:
– California Blue Shield Drops Rate Hike, Says System is ‘Broken’
– State Insurance Authorities Don’t Rigorously Review Rate Hikes
– HHS Sec. Sebelius Calls on Anthem Blue Cross of California to Justify Rate Hikes
