Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico may pull out of the individual insurance marketplace set up under the Affordable Health act next year if it can’t reach a deal on rate hikes with the state insurance commissioner.
The Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/1JkXePp) quotes Blue Cross of New Mexico President Kurt Shipley as saying his company needed an average 52 percent rate boost because it lost money last year because of unexpected high medical costs.
Insurance Superintendent John Franchini rejected the company’s request for an average 51.6 percent rate increase on individual plans.
If Blue Cross pulls out of the market, more than 17,000 people who bought its plans will need to find a new insurer and possibly a new doctor.
That’s about a third of all policies bought on the state’s marketplace.
Date: August 16, 2015