Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana policyholders have more time to review the company’s buyout.  BCBSLA will have more time to respond to concerns raised.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) announced Friday that the public hearing regarding the conversion of Louisiana Health Service & Indemnity Company, also known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA), from a mutual insurance company to a stock insurance company has been moved from Aug. 21-22 to Oct. 5-6, 2023.

“Thanks to our convening of a joint insurance oversight hearing, the Louisiana Department of Insurance has given the public more time to look into this sale,” said Senator Jeremy Stine. “While we are grateful, we still have serious concerns.”

The potential sale affects 1.9 million Louisianians. He wants policyholders to thoroughly understand the deal. That includes knowing about past fines against the company that is buying out Blue Cross, the amount of money that will leave the state over which members will have no control, and the $100,000 that Blue Cross Board of Directors currently receive and will continue to receive for the next ten years  if the deal goes through.

“In its current form, this is a bad deal for Louisiana,” Stine said. “I will continue to fight for my constituents’ best interests, and will leave no stone unturned when it comes to doing our due diligence for the people of Louisiana.”

Blue Cross includes nearly 100 percent of Louisiana physicians and 90 percent of hospitals in its network. Concerns have been raised about how a for-profit company worth $110 billion would better serve a poor state than the nonprofit Blue Cross, and why it would want to, reported The Advocate.

The public hearing is being held to determine if the Plan of Reorganization submitted by BCBSLA serves the best interests of, and is fair and equitable to, its policyholders and members as required by La. R.S. 22:236.4(A), according to the press release from LDI.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is one of 34 “Blues” around the country. The insurance firms are affiliated but operate independently, some as for-profit companies and other as nonprofits. The largest network is run by Elevance, which owns and operates 14 Blue Cross affiliates around the world.