In early October, Blue Shield of California said it is booting Stanford (Calif.) Hospital and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Lucile Packard Children's Hospital out of its individual and family plan networks next year due to high costs. That decision isn't sitting well with some customers, who say the insurer is raising premiums while decreasing their access to quality healthcare, according to a San Francisco Business Times report.
However, Blue Shield said premium rates for 2016 would have increased even more if it hadn't kicked Stanford out of the networks.
"Unfortunately, Stanford did not share in Blue Shield's affordability goals, and rates would have been even higher had they been included," Blue Shield said in a statement to the Business Times.
Although some Blue Shield enrollees in the Bay Area said their premium rates will increase significantly next year, Blue Shield said rates vary by region and rates in all areas will not increase in 2016.
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