If BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee enrollees are surprised that their insurer wants to raise premiums next year by an average of more than 36 percent, they haven’t been paying attention.
The nonprofit insurer lost $141 million on its health exchange plans sold under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014, and its tax bill — largely due to new taxes levied under provisions of the ACA — increased 72 percent to a record $463 million.
Because BlueCross sold an information technology company and because its other holdings and business ventures performed well, the state’s largest insurer still managed to earn $199.7 million.
Many people will read that number and not feel too sorry for the insurer, which neither pays dividends or returns yields to shareholders. That would miss the point.
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* Tennessee’s biggest health insurer proposes hefty rate increase * How Tennessee’s biggest health insurer helped ensure its own profits remained healthy in 2014