Late last year, there was a big outcry when Wellpoint raised their premium rates in California by as much as 39 percent. A new survey finds that this double-digit increase is not unusual at all. It found the average increase averaged around 20 percent.
According to the survey released by Kaiser Family Foundation, which polled just over 1,000 people who receive individual coverage rather than employer-group coverage, around 77 percent reported an increase. Most paid the increase but 16 percent switched to another insurer or a lower cost plan. As a result, the average increase actually realized for all respondents was only 13 percent.
