Police union says Horizon BCBS should pay penalty for premium hike

A New Jersey union is pressing the state to hold its largest health insurer accountable for rising costs after some public employees’ premiums for next year jumped more than 20%, Bloomberg reports. The president of the state’s Policemen’s Benevolent Association urged state Treasury officials who oversee the plan to disclose whether insurer Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey owes the state any financial penalties over the rising costs, the report says. Horizon paid the state a $24 million penalty last year after medical costs in 2020 increased faster than the agreed-to rate.