Nonprofit BlueCross and BlueShield health plans in several states, including Tennessee, stockpiled billions of dollars during the past decade, yet continued to hit consumers with hefty premium increases that could have been reduced in some cases, a new consumer study contends.
“Consumers are struggling to afford health coverage,” said report author Sondra Roberto, who tackled the project for Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. “Those funds could be used in some cases to mitigate these rate increases.”
The report calls on state insurance regulators to scrutinize surpluses and set maximum limits to protect consumers from unreasonable health insurance costs.
