Blue Shield California Health Insurance has no choice but to hike up their rates as do other health insurance companies in California. The insured is feeling the pinch and is wondering what choices is he left with. Take the example of Nicole Joseph, one of the many Blue Shield Health Insurance customers who has been seeing a rise in her premiums for the fourth time since a year she took the plan. ‘This is definitely going to make me ill” she grimaces.
Nicole’s voice finds echo in thousands of other people who are experiencing escalating health insurance premiums. Keith who had taken health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross decided to switch to Blue Shield California Health Insurance because the premiums looked cheaper but now, it is the same story for him.
Health insurance quotes in California as well as different parts of the United States have been rising since the past year. California has been hit hard, because in this state more than 2.5 miillion people bought insurance on their owner rather than take it from their employer company.
Blue Shield California Health Insurance blames the rise in premium rates on rising hospital care costs, high cost of drugs and doctors’ fees. “ I would still say getting the health plan is better than going without it, because medical costs are anyway expensive,” says a top company representative. Nicole Kasabian Evana, who represents California Association of Health Plans said, “Due to the weakened economy, a lot of healthy people are choosing to go without health insurance, and those still with coverage are using it more often.”
Though health insurance rates were to face increase up to 59 perent, the newly elected insurance commissioner Dave Jones sought 60 day reprieve for Blue Shield customers. Yesterday, he expanded this to other companies like Aetna, Anthem and PacifiCare.
Blue Shield California Health Insurance has said that they did not have any choice to raise premiums to cover rising medical costs, stressing that 87 percent of the premium money spend on an average is attributed to medical care. Consumer forums however believe that the premiums are going ahead of inflation rate and medical costs.
From January 1, a new law has come into existence that should make the premium process more transparent. Insurers have to inform customers about increase in premium rates at least 60 days in advance of levying the new rates. These rates must be posted online and the reason for the hike in premium has to be reasonable and justified, according to the norms of the federal health care law.
