Big jump in Blue Cross premiums sparks outrage

San Francisco Chronicle, February 11, 2009

Anthem Blue Cross, which plans to raise premiums for about four-fifths of the health insurer's individual policyholders effective March 1, has outraged members, many of whom have been hit with price increases of more than 30%. Anthem Blue Cross, formerly Blue Cross of California, covers about 800,000 individual policyholders in California. In a statement, the insurer blamed the increase in health costs for the higher premiums, in particular "the increasing need for medical services, the use of new, expensive prescription drugs and advanced technologies."