Anthem Blue Cross has not only given health care reform new life but is now a defendant in a lawsuit. Consumer Watchdog brought suit last Monday in the Ventura County Superior Court, my old stomping grounds. Anthem has an office in Thousand Oaks, my former home town.
Plaintiff Randy Freed, 55, and his wife Donna, were told last September their policy was closed to new members.
Anthem closes “blocks of health insurance business” without offering comparable options. It did this last fall, just months before it informed policyholders who stayed put that their rates would rise as much as 39%, the suit says.
When a block of insurance is closed, it drives up premiums for remaining members, who must divide the costs among a smaller pool.
The Freeds attempted to find another Anthem policy, but all the options had higher deductibles and fewer benefits. Donna Freed said, “I feel like all of our income is going toward insurance.”
The insurer’s practice has created a “death spiral,” trapping the least healthy customers in closed policies they cannot afford but also cannot leave because of preexisting conditions that may exclude them from other coverage, according to the lawsuit, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Just one example of the ripping off of policy holders by health insurance companies
Related posts:
- Anthem Blue Cross may have stepped in it with rate increase
- Anthem Blue Cross sues state of Maine for refusal to guarantee profit margin
- Blue Cross hits 114,000 Michigan families with 22% rate hike
- Proposal of the Physicians’ Working Group for Single-Payer National Health Insurance
- AFL-CIO seeks investigation of health care insurance premiums
