Health

Blue Cross Blue Shield of MT requests merger

Posted: Nov 16, 2012 4:40 PM by Marnee Banks - MTN News

On Friday, Montana's largest insurance company formally requested approval to sell its assets to an out-of-state company.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana (BCBS) is asking the Attorney General and State Auditor for permission to merge with Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), an Illinois based company.

In total, HCSC will pay $18 million for Blue Cross' assets and assume all of its liabilities. Blue Cross will contribute $120 million to a charitable foundation to improve access to healthcare programs in Montana. This foundation will operate independently from both BCBS and HCSC.

Blue Cross insures more than 270,000 Montanans. According to Blue Cross, these members should not see much of change. The name will be the same and so will the leadership and customer service.

BCBS President Mike Frank issued a statement saying, "This alliance means security and peace of mind for our customers for years to come. It means we remain locally focused and not-for-profit. It means we gain new, cutting-edge technology. It means we can become more efficient and keep costs down better than we could otherwise."

The Attorney General and State Auditor must both approve the transaction. They will be looking to make sure it does not adversely affect access to health insurance and whether or not the transaction is equitable to the insured.