Blue Cross Blue Shield execs profited from bogus bonuses

[RC]

DETAILS ONLY IN TODAY'S FORUM: Blue Cross Blue Shield execs profited from bogus bonuses
Lavish expenses found in exam of largest North Dakota insurer
Nearly $15 million in employee bonuses that were almost assured regardless of performance.

By: Patrick Springer, INFORUM

Nearly $15 million in employee bonuses that were almost assured regardless of performance.
Sales reward trips to posh resorts totaling $1.2 million.
A $3.5 million investment in a murky hotel partnership lacking audited financial statements.

All this and much more during just the past five years are among almost half a billion dollars in expenses detailed in a report by state insurance examiners who probed spending practices by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota.

The Forum obtained the 101-page report late last week and studied it in detail over the long holiday weekend.

Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm ordered the “target examination” last March after news reports of a $238,511 reward trip to a Grand Caymans resort for Blue Cross Blue Shield sales leaders sparked public outrage in a time of belt-tightening by most.

The results of the examination, which reviewed expenses from Jan. 1, 2004, to March 31, 2009, for the state’s dominant health insurer, come as the nation is embroiled in a debate over health reform and health insurance rates run amok.

>More<
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/252282/

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BTY, there is a comment section for this story at the link. How about letting the ignorant still defending BSBS of ND what you think of this at the expense of the BCBS rate payers. There are some goodies posted there. :evilgrin:

[Autumn]

1. Can't wait to see what their

bonuses are like next year.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. And this is just N. Dakota, 3rd least populous state, with 640,000 residents

as of 2006. Can you imagine what these leeches in NY and California are raking in?

[glinda]

8. North Dakota has a strong economy due to oil right now. It is one of the benefits

of their raping the earth, polluting and being in bed with Big Pharma, the Republicans and oil. They also have for years worked a deal out with northern MN. to take all their major medical issues at their hospitals making people drive hundreds of miles to get help. This all should be looked into.

[hyperfox]

3. The rest of the article...

If you followed the link above to the Forums site you will notice that in the infinite wisdom of one of the editors they omitted the rest of the article. An attempt to force readers to purchase a print version... Yea, thats what I said a PRINT version.. what the heck is a print version.. Its makes you wonder if they have heard of this new fangled thing called the internet.. :)

The moron responsible for this brainy decision to limit online content is Matt VonPinnon.. [e-mail] feel free to email him and express your displeasure as I did for his failure to think beyond the 1980's......

[hyperfox]

4. Reponse from email...

The response I received from my email to him....

Mr. _________

We have exclusive content on this story you will not find anywhere else. We feel that's worth something. We'll see if that bears out in newspaper sales.

Still, thanks for sharing your sentiments.

Matthew Von Pinnon
Editor
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead

[RC]

5. To be fair, Matthew Von Pinnon is fairly new at the Forum

He is better than the last editor.

[imdjh]

7. Pay sites can KMA.

I don't know how they are supposed to make money, but regardless of the issue, if the info is important enough it will hit the free press.

[imdjh]

6. See they don't learn. BCBS got busted in Maryland years ago: private planes, skyboxes at Cap Center,

..... hugely expensive expense accounts and all manner of waste and excess.

These people need to go.

[glinda]

9. I would say so. They are my HI Company and I address their checks as "bcBS"