With the beginning of April it becomes time to start running quotes for individual and family health insurance rates with a May 1st effective start date. The new rates and changes that Anthem Blue Cross of California announced in March now become very evident. Many Anthem customers that have older health insurance plans have seen their rates finally reach the “pain threshold” and as a result they are looking for lower cost alternatives.
My quick assessment, from the first half dozen quotes I’ve run, is that Anthem has given up a huge chunk of their lead over the other individual and family health insurance companies in California. Several of their lowest cost plans no longer exist (ClearProtection 5000, CoreGuard 10000), and the remaining plans are now similarly priced to Aetna, Blue Shield, Cigna, and Health Net plans. Going into the remainder of the year, I expect to see more new clients opting for Blue Shield of California and Cigna because they offer richer benefits at lower costs.
Stay tuned for more.