Many individual and family members of Anthem California health insurance are receiving bad news in the mail these days regarding a rate increase effective 2/1/2012 on most plans (not Medicare). The increase is averaging around 20% with highs up to 25% which is a big hit. Let\’s dig a little deeper and take a look at our options.

So what gives…why so high?

First, what is driving the rate increase? Keep in mind that the major carriers have all started the process of rate increase notifications so they\’re following suit. Part of the increase is just medical care inflation which has been hitting Californians for a decade plus now. A new addition deals with the added mandates from Health Reform in terms of what California health plans must cover. The July Maternity on all plans California law, Preventative benefits covered at 100%, Guaranteed issue for children…the list goes on. We\’re expecting a 30-50% increase (called Rate Shock) when the new Health Exchange plans come on the market Jan 1st 2014 which brings up a good question…what should we do right now?

Watch out if you\’re Grandfathered

Our initial response is run a quote through calhealth.net to see what else is available. Keep in mind that we need to look at Feb 1st, 2013 rates to compare apples and apples and those will not be available until Dec 15th. You can compare other carriers now. Make sure to change the requested date when running your quote. Some members are on California Grandfathered health plans which means they were effective prior to 10/23/2010. You want to be careful if you have this status. All other plans will automatically end Jan 1st 2014 and the new Exchange plans will be available (and much more expensive most likely). If you change plans now, you lose your Grandfathered status and will not be able to go back to your plan. I personally ran a quote for my family. Our Grandfathered HSA plan is going from $450 to $550. The available and comparable plans on the market start at $750 and the new Exchange plans will likely be $1100+. Even if there are cheaper plans now, you will only be able to take advantage of this new rate till Jan 1st 2014. You will have to change to a new Exchange plan then either way. This doesn\’t mean that you should not change plans now but you really want to discuss your situation with us if you see a better deal currently on the market.

Anthem Blue Cross rebuttal

There was a telling bit of information that came out of Anthem Blue Cross of California\’s response to a Los Angeles Times story on the rate increase. On the individual family market in California, their profit was 1% (well short of even past years) and they expect to lose money next year…even with this rate increase. This is troubling but fully expected as we mentioned in other health insurance rate articles. It also makes you wonder how the other carriers will fare since Anthem is the dominant carrier in the State. In the meantime, run your health quote and see what\’s available here. Make sure to select Feb 1st as your requested date and definitely let us know if any questions come up.

Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance quote agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual California health market. More on California Blue Cross rate increase: Anthem Blue Cross rate increase 2013

Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual and Small Group California health insurance market. http://www.calhealth.net

Author Bio: Dennis Jarvis is a licensed California health insurance quote agent with extensive knowledge of the Individual California health market. More on California Blue Cross rate increase: Anthem Blue Cross rate increase 2013

Category: Finances
Keywords: california health insurance, california health quote,Anthem Blue Cross California,rate increase