Vincent K Blair Insurance Blog

If you're an individual Anthem Blue Cross customer, this is a good time to review your options because your rates will almost certainly rise between 17%- 30% in 2010 -- starting Jan. 1 for some of my clients.

Why the rate increase? Most people blame the insurance company but the fact remains that the biggest reason is rising medical costs --- not the greed of the insurance industry, whose profit margins average 3.3 %, according to one study. That's a rate well behind many other industries-- including hospitals.

There is something you can do: first, call an insurance broker who knows the ins-and-outs of Anthem Blue Cross.  For example, one man received a rate increase notice which raised his monthly premium to $1250. When he gave his current broker a call, she was able to write a plan that lowered that premium to $850.  When he called me, I was able to lower it even further, with 100% coverage after his deductible was met.

Don't rely on the information you get by calling Anthem directly; while they do their best, the people answering the phone may simply try to adjust your CURRENT policy; they may not tell you about another plan that may be better for you.   If you don't have an agent, or if your agent hasn't kept up with you, I invite you to call me to discuss Anthem's full product line. It could save you money and may even maximize the protection of your coverage.

After all, I don't want to see you get burned by rising health insurance rates in the New Year, especially if you can avoid it.

This is a very honest story about the trade-offs that are inherent in the Senate's version of healthcare reform:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34352187/ns/health-health_care/

They're throwing around a lot of numbers in Washington about the cost of healthcare reform...for a clear-eyed view of what reform would really cost down the road, read this column by David Broder of the Washington Post:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/20/AR2009112002618.html