Blue Cross raises premiums and angers the public

Anthem Blue Cross of California, has raised premiums for healthcare coverage by as much as 40% for some of its insured members. They cite the increase in costs as the main reason for the premium increases. But the whole purpose for "managed care" was to manage and hopefully reduce costs.

Anthem Blue Cross is agreeing to a settlement with California regulators, the latest pact reached by insurers over the issue of canceling insurance plans after patients got sick.

The insurer, owned by WellPoint, has agreed to pay a fine of $1 million and to offer new coverage to 2,330 after they incurred big medical bills, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Anthem deal is the latest in a two-year effort by regulators to crack down on health insurers for dropping sick members on dubious grounds.

These are led by some of the same executives who basically stole hundreds of Millions of dollars(~$400 Million) in executive compensation to go along with the deal with WellPoint, to merge. California insured members have been stuck with these costs by paying increased premiums. It stinks, if you ask me, the same as the Banking industry bonuses have drawn criticism, after receiving TARP funds from the government. Greed has run amuck in our society as the average person is just trying to survive.