Blue Shield of California rate increase prompts criticism

January 5, 2011 | 3:17 pm

Another one of California’s largest health insurers has stunned individual policyholders with news of huge rate increases -- this time it’s Blue Shield of California seeking hikes of as much as 59% for tens of thousands of customers March 1.

[Update: To read an updated version of this report, go here.]

Blue Shield’s plan comes less than a year after Anthem Blue Cross tried and failed to raise rates as much as 39% for about 700,000 California customers.

San Francisco-based Blue Shield said the increases were the result of fast-rising healthcare costs and other expenses resulting from the new healthcare laws passed last year. “We raise rates only when absolutely necessary to pay the accelerating cost of medical care for our members,â€