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Nonprofit insurance giant hoards millions in surplus cash
Is it fair for nonprofit health insurance plans to increase customer rates when they’re hoarding millions in surplus cash?
Health insurance costs continue to rise, hitting consumers with high premiums and co-pays despite the downturn in the economy. Adding insult to injury, a new report from Consumers Union (a Burness client) has found that over the past decade, nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) health insurers accumulated vast amounts of surplus cash. Meanwhile, these same plans haven’t cut rates for customers. In fact, many have continued to increase rates, ratcheting up premiums by as much as 20 percent annually.
Read MoreJune 24 marked a first for Burness: after 25 years of managing events alongside our nonprofit partners, we tried hosting one of our own. Over lunch at Washington’s Busboys and Poets, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Alex S. Jones took the stage alongside Nicco Mele, who has made his mark as Howard Dean’s internet operations director, a Harvard lecturer and co-Founder of EchoDitto.
The question of the day was simple: “Are we losing the news?”
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Implementing provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act poses a huge challenge for the public and private sectors alike. Thousands of decisions and regulatory changes must be made to re-structure the U.S. health care system, expand health coverage, and begin the effort to control costs. The June 2010 issue of Health Affairs details the terrain that lies ahead.
Read MoreLearn more.