Health Department holds hearings Wednesday and
Thursday on Blue Cross request to drastically change Direct Pay premiums
The Rhode Island
Health Department’s Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner will hold public hearings on the request
by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island to increase premium rates for the
Direct Pay class. This proposal is going to affect 15,821 people.
The average rate hike
being requested by Blue Cross for existing Direct Pay customers will be
approximately 18%. However, this average reflects an incredibly broad range of
proposed new premium schedules that range from increases of 59% for some subscribers to decreases of up to 62% for others. Since the overall change is an
average of +18%, there are likely to be a lot more losers than winners under
the proposed new rates.
If you are a Direct Pay Blue Cross subscriber, you should click on the filing documents here to find out how you are affected.
Factors include the
subscriber’s present plan, whether it’s single or family coverage, ages and
gender. Blue Cross discriminates against women in its rate setting
simply because they are women, a practice which would become illegal under pending legislation proposed by Rep. Donna Walsh and co-sponsored by Rep. Teresa Tanzi. The
Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Sue Sosnowski and co-sponsored by Sen. Cathie Cool Rumsey,
has passed the Senate.
Public comment will be
taken at 9am on Wednesday, May 29th. Any member of the public unable to attend
at that time may appear at 6pm on Thursday, May 30th to offer public comment or
other information. If not concluded on May 30th the public hearings may
continue thereafter on May 31st at 9am or such date and time as may be
announced at the public hearings.
The hearings will take
place in a hearing room of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission, 89
Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick (directions).