A prominent Midwest insurance company is hoping to cut spending by announcing that it will no longer accept credit cards as a form of payment for individual health plans.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has begun notifying customers of the change, which will take effect June 1. The insurer will still accept other forms of payment, including debit cards, and the policy will not affect customers in the group or Medicare markets.
In the email announcing the new policy, Blue Cross called credit card fees “a significant expense that impacts all members, not just those who use credit as a payment option.”
The move comes as Blue Cross and other health insurance carriers are trying to stymie losses resulting from the enrollment of new, sicker policyholders under the Affordable Care Act. Those with new individual health plans were found to have higher rates of certain diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, coronary artery disease, HIV and hepatitis C.
The new batch of policyholders has prompted the majority of the country’s health insurers to file higher rate requests each year. Industry observers are anticipating substantial rate increases to continue in most states as companies prepare to file their requests for 2017.
While some insurers, like national leader UnitedHealthcare, are exiting the individual market, others are trying to save money in different ways. Companies have eliminated broker commissions and laid off employees in the struggle to save money.
Blue Cross spokeswoman Jill Wolowitz told the Chicago Tribune this latest measure is one the company hopes will not “impact quality of care.”
She did not say how much the company spends on credit card fees.
Other Illinois health insurance providers, including Aetna, Coventry and Land of Lincoln, will continue accepting credit cards.
