Anthem Blue Cross, which had planned on raising rates an average of 18 percent a few weeks ago, has decided instead to roll back the hike after talking with California regulators. Instead, the insurer will lower the rate increase for about 630,000 individual members to an average of 14 percent, although some members' premiums will still grow as much as 25 percent under the new agreement with California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, reported the Los Angeles Times.
Anthem will issue refunds or premium credits to its members who already paid higher rates and said it would reinstate any members who dropped or changed coverage because of the hikes. "This agreement with the Department of Insurance and rate filings by our competitors reinforce the fact that escalating healthcare costs are an economic reality faced by the entire industry," said Anthem spokesman Darrel Ng. Article