Patient trapped in health insurance rate hike
This is the kind of shitty insurance that bankrupts people
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20121113,0,3029654,print.column
It's understandable that car insurance rates can change when you move. One neighborhood might have more accidents or burglaries than another.
But health insurance?
Joan Swope, 62, moved recently from Cathedral City, just down the road from Palm Springs, to nearby Palm Desert.
She informed her insurer, Anthem Blue Cross, of the change of address. A few weeks later, Anthem responded with a notice stating that, because of the move, Swope's monthly premium on her individual policy will increase to $524 from $418.
That's a more than 25% rate hike. For a move of less than 10 miles.
"It's ridiculous," Swope told me. "I'm going to the same doctor. I'm going to the same facilities and the same drugstore. Nothing has changed."
Nothing except her ZIP Code. And in the actuarial world of insurance, that's a sufficiently life-altering event to justify an extra $1,272 in annual payments — on top of a $5,000 deductible.
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