Advocacy group Consumer Union has accused Blue insurers in California of exploiting public outrage over high drug prices to artificially inflate premiums for plans sold on the exchanges, reports Kaiser Health News.
Consumer Union filed a complaint with the California Department of Managed Health Care claiming Anthem and Blue Shield's cost projections are significantly higher than their competitors. The group asked health department officials to launch an investigation into the insurers' cost calculations for 2017, suggesting the insurers have hiked their rates higher than necessary to account for high drug prices.
"The cost of prescription drugs is an issue," Consumer Union staff lawyer Dena Mendelsohn told Kaiser Health News. "But pharmaceutical expenses may be the factor most open to exploitation by health plans for a Trojan horse with which to usher in excessively priced insurance rates."
Separately, state insurance regulators have asked Anthem and Blue Shield to justify their proposed 20 percent rate hikes before open enrollment this fall, according to the article.