According to a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts recent news release the combined companies of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts HMO Blue, Inc. have lost a bundle of money on its 2009 calendar year. The combined after-federal tax net loss totaled $149.2 million.
Allen Maltz, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.’s chief financial officer attributes their losses to: “the result of an adverse employment market which reduced membership; increased utilization of medical services due to the seasonal and H1N1 flu; a rise in elective procedures such as knee, hip and back surgeries, and in behavioral health utilization; as well as higher than anticipated costs associated with merging the individual and small group markets”. As a result, the cost of premiums will sky rocket in the upcoming year with reports from seminars being an average increase of 30%.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc is the leading private health plan in Massachusetts, with 2,924,133 members; however, it will be interesting in the upcoming months to follow to see if they retain the business with the staggering increases.
