State grants 14%, not 23%, Anthem rate hike
The state's insurance superintendent has granted Anthem a 14% rate increase for individual policies, less than the 23% the company originally requested.
In her decision, Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman said Anthem's original rate request was "excessive" and "unfairly discriminatory," and said the smaller increase is an acceptable cost increase for about 11,000 of Anthem's 21,000 individual policyholders, according to the Bangor Daily News. Kofman also said Anthem's projected cost increases and other data were inaccurate and impeded the Bureau of Insurance's ability to review the request. The rates will give the Indiana-based company an estimated 0.5% profit margin instead of the 3% originally sought. The new rates will take effect Oct. 1 and be applied retroactively to Anthem's requested start date of July 1.
An Anthem spokesman told the paper the company is still reviewing the decision and had no other comment. Earlier this year, Anthem filed an appeal against a Superior Court ruling that upheld Kofman's decision to limit its 2009 rate increases for individual policyholders to 10.9% instead of the 18.1% increase the company requested.
Go to the article from the Bangor Daily News >>
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