Anthem to boost deductibles on some individual plans

You soon may not be able to judge your cost for healthcare by the name on the PPO insurance plan. For example, the PPO Share 500 plan will have a $550 deductible. State regulators are looking into it. When it comes to the cost of health insurance, most attention is typically focused on premiums. Workers' contributions to premiums have climbed 47% since 2005, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Overall premiums have risen 27% in that time, while wages have gained 18% and inflation has increased 12%, the foundation said. Individual insurance premiums have experienced even more dramatic growth. What's especially troubling in the case of Anthem's deductible increase is the idea that a plan can be marketed with a relatively low deductible as its chief selling point, and then that deductible can still be jacked up after a consumer has signed on. A good place to start would be empowering California's insurance commissioner to approve (or reject) all policy changes, rather than merely reviewing changes to ensure they comply with existing regulations.

Source: Los Angeles Times

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