Reform, meet Anthem Blue Cross

11 February 2010

The prospects for healthcare reform legislation in Washington are cloudy, but Anthem Blue Cross apparently isn't taking any chances. The company recently informed many of the approximately 800,000 Californians who buy its individual policies that premiums will rise sharply March 1.

Although Anthem provided no details, insurance brokers say they're already seeing increases of up to 39%. That's on top of even larger rate hikes last year. With the pending healthcare bills proposing new limits on premiums and profits, the Anthem increases look suspiciously like an attempt to extract as much as possible from customers before the rules change.

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