President Obama Asks Health Insurance CEOs to Justify Exorbitant Rate Increases
Earlier today, President Obama stopped by a meeting with CEOs of the nation's largest health insurance companies, and asked them to justify their exorbitant insurance rate increases. Following recent news of Anthem Blue Cross of California raising rates by as much as 39 percent, the President has made reining in these rate increases a key part of his health reform plan.
At today's meeting, the President brought a letter he received from Natoma Canfield of Medina, Ohio, which he read to the insurance executives to highlight what’s at stake in this debate:
"Dear President Obama, I am 50 years old. I was diagnosed with carcinoma 16 years ago, and following my divorce 12 years ago I became self-employed. After my COBRA benefits ran out, I was able to find costly but affordable health insurance. As a responsible individual, I've struggled to maintain my individual coverage and have increased my deductible and out-of-pocket limits in an attempt to control my costs and keep my health insurance.
"Last year, 2009, my insurance premium was increased over 25 percent, even though I increased my deductible and out-of-pocket to the highest limits available. I paid out over $6,075.24 in premiums, $2,415.26 for medical care, $225 in co-pays, and $1,500 for prescriptions. I never reached my deductible of $2,500, so the insurance company only paid out a total of $935.32 to my providers.
"I must repeat, in 2009, my insurance company received $6,075.24 in premiums and paid out only $935.32. Incredibly, I have been notified that my premium for the next year -- for next year, 2010, has been increased over 40 percent to $8,496.24. This is the same insurance company I've been with for over 11 cancer-free years.
"I need your health reform bill to help me. I simply can no longer afford to pay for my health care costs. Thanks to this incredible premium increase demanded by my insurance company, January will be my last month of insurance.
"I live in the house my mother and father built in 1958, and I am so afraid of the possibility I might lost this family heirloom as a result of being forced to drop my health care insurance."