Anthem exits Covered California in Santa Cruz County, as rates increase 12.5 percent

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dukkha

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Aug. 02--SANTA CRUZ -- Anthem Blue Cross is bowing out of the Covered California market in Santa Cruz County as of Jan. 1, and 1,360 county residents with Anthem will have to pick a new one for 2018.
Most Covered California plans will be more expensive next year, up 12.5 percent on average in Santa Cruz County and statewide. In releasing 2018 rates Tuesday, Covered California officials recommended people shop around.
Rates in Santa Cruz County will vary significantly from insurer to insurer, starting Jan. 1.
--Blue Shield, with 6,010 enrolled, will raise rates 8-24 percent, depending on the plan.
--Kaiser Permanente, which opened Jan. 1 and has 4,700 enrolled, will raise rates 3-7 percent.
--Health Net, whose enrollee numbers have dwindled to 570, will lower rates 10 percent.
The increases come on top of 2017 increases that averaged 28.6 percent in Santa Cruz County, higher than the state average.
"Change is the new normal," veteran Santa Cruz insurance agent Pamela Fugitt-Hettrick said after getting up at 4 a.m. Tuesday to attend a Covered California seminar for agents in Sacramento.
Only two people from Santa Cruz County attended: Fugitt-Hetrick, who has been certified to sell Covered California policies from the start, and her associate LaVyrne Lomas. They work at DCD Financial and Insurance Services.

In late August, premiums could go up another 12.4 percent on average for silver plans if Covered California deems that is necessary to address uncertainty over federal funding that reduces deductibles and co-pay for 650,000 Californians. A silver plan covers 70 percent of the annual health care cost, with a $35 copay for a primary care visit.
This year, 58 percent of those who signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act qualified for these cost reductions, but these subsidies were the subject of a lawsuit by House Republicans since Congress had not appropriated funds to pay for them.
A federal judge ruled in 2016 to end the subsidies, but the Obama administration appealed. If the Trump administration dropped the appeal and Congress did not appropriate funds, the subsidies could stop.
ANTHEM DECLINE
Anthem dominated the Covered California market in Santa Cruz County's region, with a 64 percent share in 2014. Same thing last year, when Anthem held a 64 percent share compared to 32 percent for Blue Shield and 4 percent for Health Net.
https://insurancenewsnet.com/oartic...ta-cruz-county-as-rates-increase-12-5-percent
 
Top health insurance companies in numerous states are looking to hike premiums by double-digits – some by roughly 30 percent or more – for ObamaCare plans in 2018, according to newly released figures that could light a fire under stalled efforts on Capitol Hill to fix the program

lot of us have lost focus on the fact that the system we have doesn’t work,” White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, referring to the proposed premium hikes.
The Wall Street Journal reported that major insurers in Idaho, West Virginia, South Carolina, Iowa and Wyoming are pitching premium hikes averaging 30 percent or higher.*
Other states also could see double-digit hikes, including New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas – while elsewhere, insurers are eyeing smaller increases.*

The requests are preliminary and could change before insurers strike 2018 agreements with federal officials in the fall.
But they underscore concerns about Affordable Care Act plans becoming increasingly unaffordable, as Republicans struggle to come up with an ObamaCare replacement bill that can pass Congress.
Their latest legislation – the so-called “skinny repeal” – failed by a single vote in the Senate last week, leaving lawmakers split over whether to “move on” and tackle issues like tax reform or regroup and try again. President Trump is urging Republicans not to give up, and even some Democrats have started to float ideas for shoring up the law, without scrapping it.
“I do think it’s important that they continue to work on health care,” Mulvaney said. “ObamaCare’s still broken. It was just as broken today as it was last week; in fact, more so.”
However, while the premium hikes could energize GOP efforts to upend the Affordable Care Act, they also could fuel Democrats’ criticism over how Republicans are handling to repeal/replace debate.
The Journal reported that insurers are concerned about Trump’s threat to halt payments to the industry that in turn help bring down costs, as well as whether Republicans will continue to enforce the individual mandate to buy insurance.
According to the Journal, one insurer in Montana linked the bulk of its proposed 23 percent inhttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/02/insurers-seeking-huge-premium-hikes-on-obamacare-plans.htmlcrease to those two concerns.*
 
The study found that in 2008, premiums grew by an average of 9.9 percent, and by 10.8 percent the following year.
In 2010, premiums grew an average of 11.7 percent. That was the last year that individual insurance market prices were not affected by mandates of the Affordable Care Act, which Obama signed in June 2010
 
lets remember that is when you could get kicked off foir getting sick

and HUGE deductibles every years BEFORE any insurance payments kicked in.


it was trash care that went up EVERY YEAR
 
the only answwer is a public option


most America ns want it now


what will you do to keep Americas from getting what nearly all western coutries manage fine and get better care with when they all want public care


just how many dictators will you employ to stop democracy then
 
Threedee said:
Anatta voted for Obama, so, I guess he got what he wanted. :cof1:
Click to expand...
what is your problem following me around? I voted for him in '08 /not in '12.

I support single pay or a public option.
which is a much better way then uneven/costly Medicade expansion
 
noise said:
what is your problem following me around? I voted for him in '08 /not in '12.

I support single pay or a public option.
which is a much better way then uneven/costly Medicade expansion
Click to expand...

so you admitt you are annatta
 
noise said:
what is your problem following me around? I voted for him in '08 /not in '12.

I support single pay or a public option.
which is a much better way then uneven/costly Medicade expansion
Click to expand...

The ACA passed in '09, not in '13. Also, it was presumably ¡BENGHAZI! that turned you off of him in '12. I like to pick on Russians. :cof1:
 
Last edited:
evince said:
The study found that in 2008, premiums grew by an average of 9.9 percent, and by 10.8 percent the following year.
In 2010, premiums grew an average of 11.7 percent. That was the last year that individual insurance market prices were not affected by mandates of the Affordable Care Act, which Obama signed in June 2010
Click to expand...

your citing rate increases of 10ish percent were looking at increases of 20-30% now per year.
 
evince said:
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/04/health-plans-had-big-premium-hikes-before-obamacare.html


Health plans had big premium hikes before Obamacare
Click to expand...
hey Trailer Park the point is
Obama said premiums would go down, on average 2500.oo is what he told me, and that I could keep my doctor.
Both lies to the paying customers.

And now, not only can you not keep your doctor in some places you don't have any doctors to choose from which is the subject matter of the thread.

Or would you just like to as per usual use any thread that comes along to defend that disaster affirmative action "leader" of the past.
 
I can't even bring myself to address evince personally anymore, she's like a dumba$$ that fell out of a dumba$$ tree and hit every limb on the way down.
I'll throw this out there to the thread in general.

The POINT, for the 10th time is Obama pushed the ACA through with promises, not that it was as good as what we had before but that it was the necessary fix, lower premiums, add 40 million people to healthcare, keep your doctor, pay for itself.

LIES, all LIES
and billions of taxpayer dollars spent for nothing, nothing, most of the people helped by the ACA if there are really any are on Medicaid, free stuff. And if they did manage to purchase a plan, with subsidies, more free stuff, the deductables are so high they might as well not have insurance, many wish they didn't.
The feeling of thinking you have insurance, going to the doctor or hospital then still receiving a bill because your deductible has not been met sucks. really sucks, like you have bee duped.
AND, now some states don't even have any doctors available on the plan.

Are we all following along? I feel like I'm dealing with children
 
Getin the ring said:
hey Trailer Park the point is
Obama said premiums would go down, on average 2500.oo is what he told me, and that I could keep my doctor.
Both lies to the paying customers.

And now, not only can you not keep your doctor in some places you don't have any doctors to choose from which is the subject matter of the thread.

Or would you just like to as per usual use any thread that comes along to defend that disaster affirmative action "leader" of the past.
Click to expand...

The article was also published when obamacare started when there were numerous insurance companies competing with each other which kept rates down. That is not the case anymore.

Which is why desh is using 10% increases from before obamacare to justify 20-30% increases now.
 
evince said:
at what rate were premiums going up prior to ACA?
Click to expand...

At what amount did Obama say premiums would decline if Obamacare passed? Wait, since you'll find a way to pucker up and say he didn't claim anything, I found the exact quote. Obama said, "I will sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of my first term as president that will cover every American and cut the cost of a typical family's premium by up to $2,500 a year."

Not true and his lying ass knew it wasn't true. Only idiots like you believed him.
 
Poll: TrumpCare is Incredibly Unpopular

Poll: TrumpCare is Incredibly Unpopular

Soon after Senate Republicans finally unveiled their secret health care bill Thursday, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal published a poll*showing widespread disapproval for the House version of the bill, which passed last month and is largely the same as its Senate counterpart.

According to the poll, only 16 percent*of Americans think that the House bill is “a good idea.” Forty-eight percent, on the other hand, think it’s a bad one.*

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/poll-trumpcare-is-incredibly-unpopular/
Click to expand...
,
 
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