A Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters in Providence, RI.
Photo credit:
Jef Nickerson
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.
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