State legislators and attorneys are scrutinizing Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for its attempt to influence the national health-care debate through direct mail and possibly illegal automated phone calls.
The N.C. Attorney General's Office confirmed yesterday that it was investigating Blue Cross, North Carolina's largest health insurer, for prerecorded calls that started late last month. Based on a preliminary review, some calls linked to the company appear to have violated the law, according to a letter from a state attorney.
Company spokesman Lew Borman said that Blue Cross officials provided information as part of the inquiry and are in discussions with Attorney General Roy Cooper's office.
The disclosure came as 20 state legislators asked Cooper and N.C. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin to examine automated phone calls that alerted listeners to an upcoming mailer urging recipients to sign a postcard asking U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., to oppose government-run health insurance.
Both the House and Senate plans pushed by Democrats would create a government health plan to compete with the insurance industry and impose new taxes to help expand coverage.
The N.C. Consumer Protection Division began investigating the "robocalls" after a written complaint from a state resident.
Cooper's office said that for a robocall to be legal, it must clearly identify the caller, state the nature of the call and provide contact information.
"Our initial assessment is that certain calls purported to be made on behalf of (Blue Cross) do not appear to meet the third requirement," Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman told the company in a Nov. 9 letter.
Blue Cross, with 3.7 million customers in North Carolina, is a singular not-for-profit private corporation that pays taxes but benefited from a tax-preferred status for decades until the 1980s.
It's not clear when the investigation will be complete, but Blue Cross could face fines if Cooper deems the calls illegal. A group that made unlawful automated phone calls to North Carolina voters before the 2008 primary was ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty.
Borman said that the company believes that its advocacy has been lawful. Blue Cross leaders say that they believe that the calls and mailers were primarily educational because they didn't focus on specific legislation, so they are being treated as legitimate company expenses rather than paid through a political committee, he said.
The company is allowed to express its opinions on topics but not using company revenues, which include monthly premiums of insurance-plan members, said Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, who supports a public-insurance option and helped pull together the legislators' request.
"We recognize protected free speech," Harrison said in an interview. "I think it's the method in which they've engaged in it that seems inappropriate."
The criticism is the latest for Blue Cross, which also administers the health- insurance program for state employees, retirees and their dependents.
The state employees' union has criticized the company and legislative leaders because Blue Cross wasn't told to cut costs to help diminish higher out-of-pocket costs and dependent care premiums as part of a $675 million bailout of the state worker plan..
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement