Blue Shield California withdraws planned rate hikes
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Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health insurer, has withdrawn plans to raise rates for its individual and family policies this year, citing a commitment to make reform work and keep costs down.
The insurer, which has 340,000 individual and family-plan members in California, had filed with state officials earlier this year to raise rates by as much as 59 percent.
Blue Shield said the previously proposed increases reflected a two-year cumulative average increase of about 30 percent.
But the insurer said on Wednesday it has chosen not to raise those rates this year in order to help make coverage more affordable during tough economic times.
“Our not-for-profit mission is to provide Californians with access to quality health care at an affordable price,” Blue Shield California Chief Executive Officer Bruce Bodaken said in a statement. “As long-time advocates for universal healthcare coverage, we are also deeply committed to the success of health reform. The best way to fulfill our mission and make reform work is to keep costs down.”
Blue Shield said it lost $27 million on individual health insurance coverage in 2010 and even with the now-withdrawn rate increase it expects additional losses in 2011.
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(Reuters)
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