The Los Angeles Times ran an editorial this morning highlighting the massive increases in premiums for Anthem Blue Cross' customers. They say Anthem Blue Cross' actions offer the best argument yet for Congress to complete work on a comprehensive health insurance reform bill.
In the editorial entitled, Reform, meet Anthem Blue Cross, they say:
As the Los Angeles Times points out, the bills passed by the Senate and House do exactly that.
In the editorial entitled, Reform, meet Anthem Blue Cross, they say:
Anthem's official explanation for the hikes is that rapid increases in the cost of treatments and greater demand for healthcare services are driving up expenses at an "unprecedented" rate. It also asserts that the recession has prompted many healthy people to give up their insurance, leaving fewer policyholders to cover the cost of caring for a sicklier group. Those are valid complaints, but they don't automatically justify jacking rates up to the roof. In fact, Anthem's rate increases are contributing to the problem by pricing younger, healthier people out of the market for individual policies.Chief Executive Angela Braly of WellPoint Inc., Anthem's parent company, told the Wall Street Journal that lawmakers should find more effective ways to prod healthy people to buy insurance, promote competition among health care providers and put the brakes on rising costs.
As the Los Angeles Times points out, the bills passed by the Senate and House do exactly that.
[The bills] would bar insurance companies from cherry-picking customers and denying coverage for preexisting conditions, enabling people to switch insurers easily. The bills also would promote competition and clarity in pricing through a new marketplace for individual policies.The health insurance reform bills would also expand health insurance coverage to between 30 to 35 million Americans, prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage during life-saving treatment, ensure that laid-off workers won't lose insurance and eliminate annual or lifetime caps on coverage. And that is only a sample of how these reforms ensure affordability for the middle class, accountability for insurance companies, and accessibility for all Americans. Read more about the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act.
