Statement by Brian A. Sassi,
President and Chief Executive Officer Consumer
Business
Unit, on Rate Adjustments in
California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 13,
2010 - Thousand Oaks, CA – “Earlier
today, Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a
request by the California Department of
Insurance to postpone a rate
adjustment for individual members in California by
two
months to allow the Department
additional time for review. To avoid confusion for
our
members, this delay will impact all
Anthem individual members regulated at either the
state Department of Insurance or the
Department of Managed Health Care. We
welcome the regulatory review and
are confident that our rates reflect anticipated
medical costs.
“Anthem filed these rates with the
appropriate regulators in November of 2009. They are
actuarially sound and in full
compliance with all requirements in the law. The
rate
adjustments have been reviewed by an
independent expert.
“Our decision to agree to postpone
the rate adjustment does not change the underlying
issue. All health plans are in the
same situation in trying to deal with the steadily
increasing medical costs in the
delivery system, which are not sustainable. We are
also
experiencing a higher proportion of
healthy individuals choosing not to enroll, leaving
an
insured pool that utilizes
significantly more services. We need to refocus the
health care
reform debate toward steps that will
improve quality and control the underlying medical
costs, which is driving the high
cost of coverage.
“We understand the impact any rate
adjustment has on our members and their ability to
continue to carry health insurance.
And we are committed to driving quality and reducing
costs in the health care system and
improving the lives of the Californians we serve and
the health of communities all across
the state. Members will be receiving a letter
shortly
that describes these changes in
detail and whom to contact for additional
information.”
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