Premiums for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Medicare supplemental plans, offered under the Medex product name, will drop 2.1 percent next year, reported The Republican. Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Joseph Murphy said the lower rates represent a continuing trend of decreasing healthcare costs. Although healthcare utilization is dropping throughout the country, that's not happening in Massachusetts. "It's generally an older market," Murphy said. Plus, the Commonwealth has been urging insurers to negotiate agreements with providers to help lower costs. "So we are seeing some of the same trends overall in cost containment," Murphy said. Article
Editor's note: Due to a reporting error, the original version of this story incorrectly identified the affected plan. This version has been edited to include the correct plan type.