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Agency orders Blue Cross to halt practice
(11/05/2007)
The state stepped into a bitter battle Thursday between Blue Cross of California and the doctors, hospitals and medical labs that serve about 700,000 people covered by the state's largest health plan. At issue is the contentious financial relationship between medical providers and Blue Cross, which the state's top HMO regulator warned might worsen the plight of California's struggling hospitals. -
Blue Cross undergoes examination
(08/08/2007)
When an Indiana company bought Blue Cross of California in November 2003, it promised to maintain and improve the services and benefits of the state's largest health insurer. ... Nearly three years later, state regulators say they have been besieged by complaints that patients are paying more and doctors are about to be paid less. Regulators held an unusual public hearing Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles to find out why. -
Critics rip Blue Cross at hearing
(08/08/2007)
Blue Cross of California officials got an earful Tuesday at a public hearing where more than 100 people commented about how the company has been doing since 2004, when its parent company was taken over by an Indiana-based company. ... About 450 people, including doctors, nurses, nonprofit representatives, Blue Cross officials and consumers crowded into what became a standing-room only meeting in Los Angeles. -
Fans, foes weigh in on Blue Cross rules
(08/08/2007)
Consumer activists and doctors accuse Blue Cross of reneging on promises made three years ago to win state approval of the $16.5 billion merger between its corporate parent -- WellPoint Health Networks Inc. -- and Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc. -
State Hearing on Blue Cross
(08/07/2007)
Officials from the state Department of Managed Health Care will hear complaints about premium increases, canceled policies, physician reimbursement rates and transfers of money out of California after the $16.4 billion purchase of Blue Cross's parent, WellPoint Health Networks Inc., by Anthem Inc. ... Today's hearing was prompted in large part by the more than 1,600 complaints against Blue Cross received by the Department of Managed Health Care over the last three years. -
State's Largest HMO Under Investigation
(08/07/2007)
California's Department of Managed Care regulators held a public meeting Tuesday in Los Angeles to investigate complaints of illegal rate increases and out-of-state cash transfers by Blue Cross Blue Shield of California. -
Blue Cross cuts causing pain
(07/23/2007)
Blue Cross of California's latest antidote to rising healthcare costs isn't going down very well with physicians. ... The state's largest for-profit health plan is set to roll back its payments for about half the services and procedures provided by physicians next month. -
Blue Cross practices probed by regulators
(07/19/2007)
Fueled by hundreds of complaints by doctors and consumers, state regulators are taking a hard look at Blue Cross of California's business practices after its $16.5 billion acquisition by a giant Midwest health insurer three years ago...As a result, the department will discuss post-merger issues during an Aug. 7 public hearing in Los Angeles.
