Blue Cross to hike rates for 9 of its plans : Jerry Lynott
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-08-14 14:30:25 | Word Count: 511
Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania has filed for double-digit rate hikes that it said could have been larger had it not dipped into its surplus to lessen the load on customers.
The nonprofit insurance provider said eight plans that cover about 10 percent of its customers are targeted for increases to go into effect next year and an increase for a ninth would be applied in October. The hikes will generate more than $9 million in annual revenues.
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Eight of the plans are offered as individual products as opposed to group programs, said Michelle Davidson, a Blue Cross spokeswoman.
“The rates reflect the unrelenting rise in health care costs,” she said Thursday.
The increases, Davidson added, “still don’t cover the true cost of care” which is why the company is accessing its $260 million surplus to make up the difference.
Subsidies total $2.3 million, according to the filings with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
The company has spent on average $1.07 for $1 in premiums collected for the affected plans, Davidson said. For the BlueCare Cooperative Plan, the payout is $1.30, while the payout is $1.22 for the Special Care program, she pointed out.
The largest increase will be shouldered by members of the BlueCare Cooperative Plan. The company asked for a 48.9 percent hike in monthly rates that will produce an additional $7 million in annual revenues.
Individual subscribers to the plan will pay $406.63 a month compared to the existing rate of $273.13. The family rate jumps to $803.19 from $539.49. And a parent with a child or children would pay $516.81, up from the monthly rate of $347.13.
Others in line for hikes include the Special Care hospitalization program, five BlueCare Security 65 Medicare supplement plans and BlueCare Major Medical run in conjunction with Highmark Blue Shield and First Priority Health.
Blue Cross spokesman Anthony Matrisciano said the First Priority plan is offered to employees who are terminated from their jobs and allows them to continue with health care coverage. The plan will be changed in October to add a state mandated prescription plan that members can decide whether to accept. With the prescription coverage, rates will increase 27.7 percent and without it, the increase will be 12.2 percent.
The changes affect approximately 56,000 subscribers out of the overall customer base of approximately 585,000. They are located within the company’s 13-county market in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.
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