As she knocked on doors this summer with other advocates raising awareness of the need for affordable health care, Shamerine Barber found herself with her own story to tell.

When she turned 19 in June, Barber was dropped from her mother's health insurance policy. Although some health plans cover children until age 23 or 24 as long as they are enrolled in college, some exclude married children. Barber, a student at the University of Virginia's College at Wise, recently married.

"I'm diabetic, and I'm anemic. . . . I am considered high risk," said Barber, a summer intern with the Virginia Organizing Project, an advocacy organization pushing for affordable health care.

"I was turned down by two insurance companies," Barber said. Another offered insurance with unaffordable premiums.

Barber and about 30 others rallied for affordable health insurance recently, standing at the corner of West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road, close to the headquarters of the state's largest health insurer, Anthem.

A report out recently by the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations, a network of grassroots groups, criticizes insurance industry profit as excessive. The report features state-by-state snapshots, and for Virginia singles out Anthem, Optima Health Plan and United Healthcare for their profits.

Big insurance companies "are reaping huge profits while consumers struggle with cost, access and quality," said Sandra Cook of the Virginia Organizing Project.

Health plans in Virginia posted before-tax profit margins that ranged from less than 2 percent to more than 18 percent in 2006, according to data from Virginia Health Information, which collects and publishes health data. Anthem in 2006 had a 15 percent profit margin before taxes, according to the data.

An official at Anthem Virginia said the company is doing its part to develop solutions.

"Since 1992, Anthem has been a strong partner of Virginia's free clinics and has contributed more than $10 million to help meet the needs of Virginia's uninsured by helping provide thousands of Virginians a place to go to receive health care," said Scott Golden, Anthem spokesman.

Golden also said Anthem officials were part of a state health reform commission that developed a plan for addressing access, affordability, efficiency and quality. In late 2007, Anthem's charitable foundation awarded $300,000 to the Virginia Health Care Foundation to fund outreach to enroll uninsured children in state health-insurance programs, he said.

"Anthem sees itself as a positive force for change and improvement in today's health-care system," Golden said. "We are already taking steps to transform health care and support efforts to fix what's broken in our system -- without breaking what works."

The health-insurance industry has started a national solution-seeking campaign.

"We recognize that rising health-care costs are putting a burden on individuals, working families, small business and employers," said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, an association representing nearly 1,300 member companies.

"It's important to keep in mind health insurance premiums rise directly as underlying costs of services increases," Zirkelbach said.

 Contact staff writer Tammie Smith at TLsmith@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6572.