Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana officials have  been answering questions from policyholders about its proposed $2.5 billion sale to Elevance Health of Indianapolis.

Here are the answers they have publicized so far:

• Members will continue to have the same access to their doctors, hospitals, and health care providers in Louisiana.
• Premiums will not increase because of this transaction. In fact, over time, policyholders will pay less for BCBSLA insurance.
• Policyholders won’t lose their Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan.
• Louisiana will not lose jobs.
• Eligible policyholders (estimated at about 92,000) will receive their share of the sale’s proceeds.
• The sale price has been analyzed by experts and is fair and equitable.
• Louisianans will benefit from improved health care through creation of a non-profit entity (a health care foundation).
• BCBSLA members will benefit from the $4 billion Elevance Health has already invested in health care. They will receive increased access to care coordinators, health coaches, and educators, as well as the best in-class digital tools and telehealth services.

Some policyholders have other concerns about the sale that aren’t covered by those answers. Henry W. Kinney of New Orleans expressed reservations he has about the sale in a Jan. 1 letter to The Advocate.

Kinney said after (1.9 million) policyholders lose control of the management of their health insurance, “What is almost as damaging to the members is that the proceeds (from the sale) will not be shared with them. Instead, the board of the old member-run institution has created a ‘foundation’ to bank the proceeds and use as they see fit.”

Accelerate Louisiana is the foundation Kinney is talking about. The Advocate reported last August that the 92,000 individual policyholders who have to approve the sale would receive $307 million from the sale, which is about $3,000 per policyholder.

The newspaper said that the rest would go to the foundation, along with an additional $1 billion or so from Blue Cross reserves. The foundation would get over $3 billion.

Kinney said, “This is a bad idea times two. No less than 91% of the proceeds from this deal will go to a social welfare organization that will be run by four of the hand-picked members of the current board of Blue Cross.”

He added, “One of the independent experts hired by the Louisiana Department of Insurance has reported that the board’s directors had an economic incentive to approve the plan. Each board member, who was not placed on the newly created independent foundation, will receive payment of ‘no less than’ $105,000 per year, for 10 years to serve on an Elevance ‘advisory board,’ with no definite duties.”

Nancy Bradford Mounce of Lafayette in a Sept. 28, 2023, letter to The Advocate said that the Louisiana Hospital Association determined Elevance “has been subject to a number of allegations of engaging in business practices that are detrimental to patients, healthcare providers and owners of self-funded plans.”

State Sen. Jeremy Stine, R-Lake Charles, and a member of the Senate Insurance Committee, has expressed serious concerns about the Blue Cross sale. Last August, he said Anthem, which is now Elevance, had been levied with nearly $1 billion in fines for a total of 476 penalties.

Stine in a January letter to The Advocate said, “Despite my time with BCBSLA’s CEO, their leadership failed to provide me with satisfactory answers to two basic, fundamental questions: How does this new deal benefit policyholders of BCBSLA and how does it benefit the state of Louisiana?”

The questions that Blue Cross is answering for policyholders don’t cover the complete story of the sale. Little is known about the foundation that will handle over $3 billion in BCBSLA funds or the over $1 million being paid to former board members over a decade who would serve on an advisory board. Policyholders also want more information on the reasons behind the $1 billion in fines levied against Elevance for 476 penalties.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance will hold a hearing on the sale Feb. 14-15 and that would be the right time to insist on Elevance officials responding to these questions and concerns.

Meanwhile, many of the 1.9 million Blue Cross policyholders can express their views on the sale to Tim Temple, the new state insurance commissioner who has the final word on the sale. The address is: Louisiana Department of Insurance, P.O. Box 94214, Baton Rouge, LA 70804.