Court rejects Anthem appeal over rate increase
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has again rejected an appeal from Anthem over its desired insurance premium rate increase for 2011-2012.
The court Monday upheld former Bureau of Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman’s May 2011 decision to deny Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield a 9.2% rate increase, instead granting an increase of 5.2% for about 11,000 individual policyholders, according to the Bangor Daily News. Kofman deemed Anthem’s requested increase “excessive and unfairly discriminatory.” Anthem sought a 3% profit margin, but the approved rate gave the company a 1% margin instead. An Anthem spokesman said the company is reviewing the court’s decision and has not determined a next step.
Anthem has lost two other appeals of the state’s approval of rate increases in the last three years. In September 2010, Kofman granted the company a 14% increase, less than its requested 23% increase for its 2010 rates. In 2009, Kofman denied Anthem an 18.1% increase, instead granting a 10.9% hike.
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