Wellpoint Sues Maine to Guarantee Their Profits

By Robert Greenwald . Posted October 5, 2009.

Now, WellPoint's affiliate, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, is suing the state of Maine for refusing to guarantee it a profit margin in the midst of a painful recession.

Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is suing the state because they want to increase premium rates by 18.5% on their 12,000 individual insurance policy holders, so they can guarantee themselves a 3% profit margin. This story shows how silly it would be to solely rely on regulation to rein in insurance industry practices.

Brave New Films has put together a video exposing the practices of Anthem and its parent company WellPoint. You can send your friends in Maine the news about this lawsuit, to highlight this practice. Maine Superior Court will consider this case on Wednesday.

See more stories tagged with: health care, abuse, health insurance, brave new films, greed, robert greenwald, wellpoint

Robert Greenwald is the director/producer of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," as well as many other films. He is a board member of the Independent Media Institute, AlterNet's parent organization.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from AlterNet! Sign up now »