Anthem, owned by for-profit health insurer WellPoint in Indianapolis, filed for the rate increase claiming it expected to lose money for individual health plans in California this year due to rising health costs. The company, which holds a 43 percent share of the state’s individual insurance market, will refund customers who paid the higher rate this month and will allow former policyholders to reenroll without reapplying if they dropped their coverage due to the higher rates. Still, some customers’ rates will jump as high as 25 percent.
The California Department of Managed Health Care is reviewing Anthem’s separate 15 percent rate increase filing that would impact 100,000 policyholders, according to the report.
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