AUGUSTA – The head of Maine’s Bureau of Insurance announced Wednesday he has turned down Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s request to raise rates by an average of 5.8 percent for supplemental coverage for Medicare recipients.

The ruling marked the second time in less than a week that Superintendent Alessandro Iuppa has denied a rate increase to the state’s largest health insurer.

Nearly 41,000 Mainers are covered under Anthem’s various Companion Plan Medicare policies, which are available to everyone over 65 and some younger individuals who are disabled.

Iuppa said a review of the rate filing along with information presented at a Nov. 4 public hearing failed to support the proposed increases, which varied by plan and ranged from 4.3 percent to 6.6 percent.

“Under Maine law, Anthem was required to demonstrate that the proposed rates were not excessive or unfairly discriminatory. The evidence presented did not prove that any increase over the current rates was warranted,” he said.

Anthem spokesman Bill Cohen said the company had just received Iuppa’s ruling hours earlier and was studying it.

“We need to go back through each of his points, do an analysis and then figure out what our next step is,” Cohen said. He said the company could refile the request, take the case to court or let the ruling stand.

In seeking the higher rates, Anthem cited a need to pay for an anticipated increase in enrollments and utilization.

Anthem is one of about 15 companies that offer so-called Medigap plans in Maine. Anthem’s most popular plan has risen in cost from about $77 a month in 1998 to about $136.

While Medicare pays for essential in-hospital care, the supplemental plans help pay for office visits and other outpatient care.

Elderly Mainers already are facing a 17 percent increase in their Medicare premiums in the coming year.