While Anthem Blue Cross has been taking the heat for proposing rate increases of up to 39 percent on individual consumers, other health insurers have stunned some small businesses with hikes that in some cases exceed 75 percent. Tom Simmons, president of an Oakland design and consulting firm with four employees, said he had just read about the Anthem increases when he opened a letter from his insurer, Blue Shield of California, informing him his monthly family premium would go up to $1,596 a month from $908, a nearly 76 percent increase. ‘This industry is getting out of control. It makes me fearful of future years and what could become of things if something doesn’t change,’ said Simmons, whose business health insurance policy also covers his family of three. He ultimately was able to reduce the increase to about 16 percent, but only after switching to a plan with a higher deductible and other higher out-of-pocket expenses. California health premium increases have taken center stage on both state and national levels since earlier this month, when Anthem Blue Cross informed many of its 800,000 customers who buy policies independently that their rates would go up by […]