Some consumers left out of Anthem's delay to planned rate hikes

Although the insurer announced last month that it would delay a planned premium rate increase for about 600,000 policy holders, reports indicate that as many as 120,000 people will still experience the increases.

Los Angeles Times: Cuts To Anthem's Rate Hikes Are Not For Everyone
Nearly 151,000 Anthem Blue Cross individual policyholders face rate hikes of as much as 26 percent on May 1, even though far more Anthem individual customers are getting a break this year (Helfand, 4/8).

San Francisco Chronicle: Not All Anthem Blue Cross Members Get Rate Break
When Anthem Blue Cross announced last month it would lower or delay its planned May 1 rate increases for some 600,000 individual policyholders, it turns out that about 120,000 members were left in the cold. The bulk of Anthem's individual policyholders are regulated by the state Department of Insurance while a smaller group are under the purview of the state Department of Managed Health Care. Anthem's announcement to reduce the hike to an average of 9.1 percent from its earlier proposed average increase of 9.8 percent applied only to policies regulated by the Department of Insurance. So it's tough luck for the 120,000 people who happen to be in the Department of Managed Health Care's domain. The Department of Managed Health Care, along with the 120,000 policyholders, call that unfair. The regulator sent Anthem Blue Cross a letter today asking the insurer to reconsider its decision (Colliver, 4/7).

Meanwhile:

Kaiser Health News: Health Insurance From Both Sides: KHN Interview Of Aetna CEO Bertolini
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby spoke with Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, who has had his own first-hand experiences with the health system (Appleby, 4/7).