The requested increase would affect roughly 365,000 of the company's 3.6 million customers who buy their own health insurance.  Policies under Blue Advantage, Blue Options HSASM and Blue SaverSM would be affected.  Company spokesperson Lou Borman says the request is based on projections of health care costs in the coming year.  "We try to be open about it, be transparent and let people know what we see in terms of the utilization of health care," says Borman.  He says the rising costs generated by heart disease treatment, knee and hip replacements in particlar are driving the rising costs of health care in North Carolina.

Borman said the increase is not related to any one thing, nor is it due to new provisions unders the Affordable Health Care Act.  In fact, he says the company is ahead of the curve in preparing for new regulations going into effect in 2014.  Still, Borman said that the company recognizes that cost will be an issue for some customers.  "What we're trying to do is keep a lid on those costs, to work with both providers and pharmaceutical companies, and begin those discussions about creating models of payment to providers in different ways to try to stem the growth of these health care costs."  

Borman says Blue Cross Blue Shield is also working on cutting its own administrative costs by 20-percent.  It's the dominant company providing health insurance to individuals in the state, with more than 90 percent of the market.  

BCBSNC has two new websites with more information about health care costs and reform: