The most interesting paragraph in this article – http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/78937392.html – is the following:
“The health system would be happy to consider little or no increase if the resulting savings went to patients and their employers rather than Blue Cross, Finan said. Blue Cross had indicated it will increase premiums by 9 percent to 10 percent in 2010.”
Is this a clue that some carriers do not pass on 100% of the discounts to the consumer, but instead retain a portion of the discount as an additional revenue source? We think this is a very strong clue, coming from a hospital administrator.