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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The state's largest insurer says close to 45,000 Louisiana policyholders could see the rates for their health coverage jump anywhere from 10 percent to nearly 20 percent next year, and the Affordable Care Act is a major reason.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana accounts for the bulk of those individual policies, which people buy directly from an insurance company rather than through their employer.
Blue Cross spokesman John Maginnis said the Affordable Care Act expanded access to health insurance to millions of Americans, regardless of age or health status, and guaranteed richer benefits. He says those things come at a cost.
Maginnis tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1oKju9e ) the claims for several of Blue Cross's individual plans were greater than the premiums being paid, which means those plans are losing money.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
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