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Thousands of NC Blue Cross Customers Could Face Higher Premium Costs

Associated Press Photo/Gerry Broome, File

Around 50,000 customers of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina could soon face changes in their health care premium costs. Next year, they'll make the switch to the Affordable Care Act, in some cases paying twice as much or more for insurance.

Blue Cross will notify customers in September that their current policies will expire.

The affected customers are on so-called “grandfathered plans.” They were allowed to remain in effect after the Affordable Care Act went into effect, per President Obama's promise. The plans don't comply with the federal requirements for health insurance -- and would not be legal to sell today.

According to the News and Observer, when comparing premiums, the company says women over 50 and young men will generally pay more for ACA coverage, while older men and young women will pay less.

The Durham insurer says ACA plans provide better coverage than previous ones, including maternity, but it will cost more.

Blue Cross says some customers who move to the ACA will benefit from federal subsidies to offset the insurance hikes, but not all.

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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