anthem blue cross informed some members their medications will be only available by mail order.it has some in the hiv aids community upset. >> many insurance companies give discounts to mers, members get medication through the mail. now, anthem blue cross telling some they must receive prescriptions through the mail if they want them paid for this, patient has been told that from now on, he may not buy his medications from a pharmacy. instead, must get his drugs by plail. -- mail. member was individual and pooled group policies with hiv, aids have been told the same. >> i feel bullied or picked out, excluded from the group. >> he does not want his identity known but is he working with consumer watch dog to sue blue cross saying the rules are discrime in a tori. the courage campaign believes it's a dangerous policy too,. >> their relationship with their pharmacist is critical to health care. and that is especially here in san francisco. >> consumer watch dog says the change brings up major concerns about who will see these deliveries being made. >> blue cross is being blase about

anthem blue cross wants to hike their premiums by 26%.orida and ohio have already increased patients' rates by 20%. how is this happening and what can be done to stop it? we're going to put those questions to dave jones, who is leading the charge against the wild rate hikes that the insurance companies are planning. he's coming to us from sacramento. dave welcome inside "the war room." >> a pleasure to be with you jennifer. >> jennifer: tell us for people who have not been following this, why are these rate hikes happening in some states and not in others? >> the problem in california and other states is that there is nothing in the affordable care act or in state law that gives the insurance regulator the authority to reject excessive health insurance or hmo rate hikes. that's a glaring loophole in the affordable care act. the affordable care act has a lot of good things in "n" it. it will cover more americans and stop from insuring those with pre-existing conditions. now 37 states have adopted laws on their state laws to do exactly that

but in california, anthem blue cross says they want to raise premiums 26% for some policy holders. aetna wants to raise them 22% and blue sheefld california wants to raise them 20%. you see, california cannot forbid insurers from jacking their rates up of the the folks who will be most hurt are the one who is buy coverage on their own and don't get it through work because people covered by employer-based policies are only looking at a 4% increase in their rates. the reason these companies are able to raise their premium this is much is because health insurance for them -- health care for them -- is still getting more expensive in some place, the senior pals health policy analyst for consumers union is quoted as saying, when you are aloud medical underwriting and to close blocks of business, rate review will not affect this. but some are seeing the brighter side of this rate review program with an executive from kaiser family foundation saying there is no question that revideoview of rates makes a difference that it results in lower rates paid by consumers and small businesses. 37 s

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurance plan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> lance armstrong is coming clean. oprah says she was riveted by parts of the tell all interview and now new troubles for the disgraced cyclist who denied doping until now. we report on that story. >> lance armstrong denied it for years. adamantly. >> i have never doped. >> i have never taken performance enhancing drugs. >> now he is coming clean. >> in an interview with op

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancelan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> santa clara, san francisco, east bay, and all bay area, this is abc7 news. >> surprise caller disguised as a reporter crashed a national conference call with the parents of super bowl bound brother coaches jim and john harbaugh. >> question for baltimore, is it true that both you like jim better than john? >> come on! >> is that john harbaugh? >> john? john? john? >> i was

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancefor many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> donna: talk about timing. i'm right here to catch you if you fall. >> taylor: [ gasps ] busy? >> thomas: well, when everything i do has to be approved by rick, kind of jams up the creative flow. >> taylor: i can imagine. >> thomas: i was so close, mom. >> taylor: you were more than close, thomas. you were there. your father appointed you c.e.o. and then what happened is what always happe

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancelan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> coming up at 4, 49ers fever with the final practice and departure before the big game if atlanta. at 5:00, the outpouring of support for an apartment maintenance worker arrested for killing a burglar in the south bay. the community wants him set free. >> now, the perfect pet on friday. >> talking about you, yeah. >> hello. happy friday! >> nice to see you. tell us about thi

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancelan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. fremont, palo alto, north bay, and all the bay area this is abc7 news. >> this may not be a surprise, the latest numbers from the centers for disease control say the flu is still on the rise on the west coast, a spike in cases in western states comes as the centers for disease control report as drop in flu-related deaths in the east but 10 percent of all deaths nation-wide wer

. >> reporter: some insurance companies in california including anthem blue cross, aetna and blue shield of california are proposing rate increases of 20% or more for some individual customers. today the california insurance commissioner deemed one proposed group increase unreasonable and accused companies are trying to maximize profits. >> it's a disaster. it explains why we have 6 million to 7 million californians who simply can't afford health insurance and it's not going to get any better. >> reporter: and it's not just california. in florida and ohio, insurers have instituted double-digit rate increases. new york, which unlike california has power to roll back rates has generally held increases below 10%. overall medical costs are projected to rise only 7.5% this year, so some experts are puzzled by the double-digit premium increases, and question whether it has something to do with the obama care law, which will bring big changes next year. >> they know they're going to have a lot of changes and lose some business and get new business anyway. it may be that this is the best strateg

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurance plan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. cocca-dotts in new york just revealed their lastest creations for the super bowl. the local favorite eadlines last >>> an unusual food pairing. in new york they revealed their latest creation for the super bowl. the local favorite grabbed national headlines last year with their popular chicken wing cupcakes. now salsa and chips, pepperoni pizza, cornbread and chili, chocolat

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancean that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> in san francisco, near china basin area, you can see the bomb squad brought out the robot to check out a suspicious package. the san francisco police department tells us this is a military ordinance which is why they sent the robot in there. it has cameras and operated remotely. this is near the giants ballpark at 3rd and 4th at the china basin. they are not asking people to

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancelan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. >> movies and actors have been nominated for an academy award. did your favorites make it? abc news reporter joins us live from los angeles with the thrill and the disappointment. >> there were several surprises this morning with the nominations that came out. one was silver linings playbook which has new received eight oscar nominations including one in each and every major c

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurance plan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. officer today. the intimtate swearing in cerems ahead of all the pomp and circumse tomorrow. weather ad libs 01:01:11;01: suhr - it's gog ((butt to)) president obama formally begins his second term in office. the s.r. money ahead of the pomp and circumstance tomorrow. >>> a beautiful day. plenty of sun around the day. a chilly start and maybe wet next week. the forecast in a

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancen that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. tz. >> 3 spotted hyena moved into the new home at the oakland zoo this week. 2 male and one female are settling in to new dig after move from the berkeley hyena center where they were part of uc research colony. funding for the research dried up recently and 3 animals, well they needed a new home. oakland zoo told uc they would be happy to adopt them. zoo said it will keep the y

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurance plan that pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. advance to the next round oe n-f-l playoffs. >>> elation in the bay area as the 49ers advance to the next round of the nfl playoffs. >> and boy, the forecast will bring a chill to your heart and everything else, quite frankly. freeze warnings throughout the bay area and the forecast in a minute. >> and a bay area school that had to be sterilized. what it means for students a

announcer: ron and carol called anthem blue cross and found an affordable medicare supplement insurancethat pays for many of the costs that original medicare won't. now they have the confidence to keep making memories for years to come. choose from options like plans with deductibles as low as $0 and $0 for coinsurance. plus get protection from high out of pocket costs. get the freedom to keep your own doctors that you know and trust. and even get stand alone prescription drug plans for brand name and generic prescription drugs at more than 54,000 pharmacies across the country. if you're eligible for medicare or will be soon we'll help you find a plan that fits your needs. call or go online now to get answers. that's the rule of thumb for super bowl fans looking to a new tv. cbs 5 consumerwatch . >>> the bigger, the better issue the rule of thumb for super bowl fans looking to buy a new tv. >> julie watts explains what is the best actual size and best type of big screen tv for the big game. >> reporter: super bowl season is tv buying season and beats the holiday. >> i want a big tv 46,

anthem blue cross 26% and blue cross of california is 20% for some policyholders. this is a situation where some people who do not have employer provided insurance have to buy it on their own. they are particularly vulnerable to higher rates. this is a big, big story for people who don't have a big company who are paying the way. >>> and nba pay is dropping. "the wall street journal" reports a survey by the graduate management admin council finds that for graduates with experience of three years or less, median pay was $53,900 in 2012. it was actually down 4.6% from the level in 2007 and 2008. now to today's national weather forecast. mike seidel joins us from the weather channel. good morning, mike. >> anyway, good morning. it will be seasonally cold in new england, but the not bad. 38 in new york this morning. that's your average high. a lot of sunshine out there. washington, it's 46. and no big storms in the immediate future. down south, sunny, dry weather. frosty from atlanta to nashville. temperatures running at or above average. back to 60. new orleans with s

. >> they report anthem blue cross is anticipating premiums for some policy holders. >> aetna is raisingremiums. blue shield of california plans a 20% increase. 37 states have legislation allowing regulators to roll back rates that are deemed excessive and california does not. >>> bone marrow drive will be held for a bay area mother of three battle ago rare form of lymphoma. she desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. indian american don't mores are her best chance of finding a match. the drive is schedule for today. from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. bone marrow drives will be held next weekend in san jose and fremont. >>> it is just the brooklyning of -- beginning of flu season and they say it is going to get worse before it gets better. there are dramatic cases in the bay area. number of people who tested positive for the flu doubled from 6% to 12%. doctors say flu season will ramp up as children goes back to school. >> the flu is officially here. it is common in kids and they are together in exchanging germs all the time. >> the flu season can linger into march or april. they say it is

anthem blue cross, 26% increase. blue shield of cal, 20% increase. where are the rate cuts?ons to sell ethanol, food prices rise as corn growers take stock to ethanol. it becomes more expensive. the more you regulate, the more expensive it comes. >> why was the president able to sell obamacare in part on the idea we must do something -- >> he didn't sell it to me. >> healthcare costs were rising, that was a fact. and so his argument was we need to do something about and this universal healthcare is one of the things we should do to stop that. >> was he referring to the federal government's stake, the cbo numbers and something he could hang his hat on. >> when you require health insurers to cover procedures, whether people want to buy the coverage, lie hair transplants, viagra, all these requirements, of course it's going to be more expensive for the rest of us. >> let us know what you think. have you seen your rates go up in the state in which you live? >>> syrian president bashar al-assad announces he's not going anywhere. this is new video of him speaking publicly for the

the rate requests are more striking after a 39% raise sought by anthem blue cross in 2010 helped giveafraid to lay blame where the blame should be laid. it is on insurance companies. it is insurance companies who are deciding to do these rate increases. it is nobody else's fault. they're making these decisions. and what they're saying is because the affordable care act is going to levy some new fees and taxes on the insurance companies, they need to pass those on to consumers. or the customers. you don't need to do anything. >> papa john's pizza will cost a million dollars each. >> stephanie: papa john's pizza will cost a million dollars a slice. >> if you look at the top five health insurance providers and their profits they made $12.5 billion in 2011. >> poor babies. in 2010, they made $11.7. so their profits are going up. and they're saying they have to pass these fees and regulations on to us. >> stephanie: so in other states like florida and ohio, insurance has been able to raise rates. the rate increases can amount to several hundred dollars a month. this is not -- this is reall