The rate hikes, which could increase premiums for some California customers by up to 39 percent, prompted Sec. Sebelius to pen the letter to parent company WellPoint requesting justification for the rate increases.
After receiving WellPoint’s response, Sec. Sebelius released the following statement:
“It remains difficult to understand how a company that made $2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009 alone can justify massive increases that will leave consumers with nothing but bad options: pay more for coverage, cut back on benefits or join the ranks of the uninsured. High health care costs alone cannot account for a premium increase that is 10 times higher than national health spending growth. Without comprehensive reform, fewer people will be able to afford health insurance and Anthem’s decision to raise their rates only demonstrates the urgent need for real reforms that fix our broken health insurance system. Reform will end the worst insurance company practices and put doctors and patients — not insurance companies — in charge of medical decisions. If we fail to implement reform, insurance companies will continue to prosper while families will continue to struggle.”
Read the HHS’s statement in response to WellPoint.
