CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the Washington area's largest health insurer, said yesterday that it will not increase premiums this year for 123,000 of its 3.28 million members.
The announcement represents a softening in premiums for a small number of members after several years of double-digit increases by CareFirst and many other insurers nationwide.
Insurers have been predicting lower rates in response to recent signs that medical costs have been rising at a slower pace.
Not-for-profit CareFirst said it expects a moderation of 2004 premium increases "as a result of a slowdown in the rate of company spending on medical services such as doctors' fees, hospital bills, prescription drugs, etc.," according to a notice on its Web site.
CareFirst, which is based in Owings Mills, also reported in a news release yesterday that its earnings doubled last year as membership increased by 36,000 in the District, Maryland, Delaware and Northern Virginia.
CareFirst said its earnings jumped from $85 million in 2002 to $171.3 million last year. Revenue grew from $6.7 billion to $7.3 billion over the same period.
G. Mark Chaney, CareFirst's chief financial officer, said in the news release that members' health care spending rose last year but "at a slower rate than we had anticipated when we were setting our 2003 premiums."
As a result, Chaney said premium increases should be more "moderate" for some employer groups this year.
CareFirst said premiums will not be increased this year for 67,000 members in the company's Medicare supplemental programs in Maryland and Delaware and for 56,000 members insured through small-employer groups.
CareFirst officials did not return calls seeking further comment. |
