This was once cute ? Looks like a male Kennedy.
Posted on 11/06/2009 12:14:31 PM PST by wbill
RALEIGH — Rep. Pricey Harrison has asked the state’s attorney general and Department of Insurance to investigate Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s use of campaign-style tactics aimed at defeating controversial federal health insurance legislation.
The Greensboro Democrat wants to know whether the insurer violated the state’s do-not-call registry law with an automated message in late October. And she questions whether it is proper for the insurer to use its premiums to pay for the calls and two recent pieces of direct mail.
“I have heard from a number of constituents who were really upset about the postcard campaign,” Harrison said Thursday. “There are a lot of angry taxpayers, policyholders and state employees.”
Harrison has been a backer of the state’s do-not-call registry and said people on that registry, such as herself, were receiving the calls. That law typically prevents companies from calling and soliciting new customers or donations.
“These aren’t solicitation calls. We’re not soliciting anything,” said Lew Borman , a spokesman for the insurer. Households that received the calls were drawn from voter registration rolls. There is an exemption in the law for political activity.
Blue Cross Blue Shield is the state’s largest insurer with more than 3.7 million members.
Borman said the company does not oppose all health insurance reform efforts under way.
But the company does believe that creating a public health insurance option — a mechanism by which a federally subsidized plan would compete with the private market — would drive up costs for companies and premiums for those who are insured.
“Our folks think we have a responsibility to be involved,” Borman said. “After all, who knows more about this stuff and how it works and what impacts changes could have than we do?”
The mailers in question included a postcard that could be mailed to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan , a Greensboro Democrat, urging her to oppose the public option. Hagan said recently that she supported the public option contemplated by Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.
Harrison questioned whether it was appropriate for the insurer to use its funds given its “preferred tax status” as a not-for-profit.
“I am concerned that they have potentially violated their business charter by engaging in political advocacy,” Harrison wrote in a letter to the attorney general and Department of Insurance.
Harrison misunderstands the company’s status, Borman said.
“We are a fully taxed medical services and hospital corporation,” Borman said, adding that the company paid $162 million in federal, state and local taxes last year.
However, the fact the company paid taxes does not make it a for-profit company, said Adam Searing , a health policy expert with liberal-leaning advocacy group The North Carolina Justice Center.
“They are a nonprofit organization,” Searing said. “They are organized under a special part of the nonprofit corporation law in North Carolina. They have a nonprofit board.”
The company does not have shareholders nor is it a mutual company owned by its members. And Searing points out there is a whole provision of the law governing Blue Cross and Blue Shield that would govern its conversion to a “for-profit” company should the insurer ever decide to do that.
Harrison and Searing say that it’s appropriate for the attorney general and the state’s insurance regulators to ask questions about what could be construed as taxpayer-abetted political activity.
“We’re reviewing the complaints we have received regarding the mailing and will assess the letter’s requests when we receive it,” said Noelle Talley , a spokesman for Attorney General Roy Cooper.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Insurance said officials would review the request but said state law gave the regulators little say over a company’s communications strategy or political activity. The department, she said, was focused on ensuring companies could meet their obligations to policyholders.
For what it's worth, I think I received one of these mailings that's mentioned. I put it in the circular file, like all of the other 100 junk mailings I get weekly. Didn't worry me too much, and certainly didn't influence my opinion one way or the other.
I'm sure that we never received any of the Robo-Calls that the article mentioned. Got plenty of other ones, though, in October and November - all from Local Dem candidates.
Another Democrat elected official who doesn’t understand the First Amendment and wants to control free speech.
Pricey Taylor Harrison sat next to me in 6th grade. She was a cute little rich kid (Price family as in Jefferson Pilot). Rich liberals give me the dry heaves.
What are the Rats worried about? The vast majority of people support ObamaCare.
That’s what they keep telling us.
Color me less than impressed.
How ‘bout we turn this around and use this
panel to investigate CON-gress? Inappropriate
use of funds is the only way they are still
in power.
Sheesh! Get rid of them!
She had a champagne fountain at her debutante party which impressed me. After college, she started hanging out with Ruck Rucker who walked around with a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. There is something disturbing about a politician who has never worried how they are going to pay a bill.
It’s only acceptable corporate free speech when they write big fat chacks to the DNC and Harrison’s reelection committee......
“Our folks think we have a responsibility to be involved,” Borman said. “After all, who knows more about this stuff and how it works and what impacts changes could have than we do?”
. . . and if there's anything a socialist can't stand, it's criticism from people who actually know the topic they're trying to demagogue.
As far as I can tell, she’s one of the biggest nutcases in the NC House. Any time you hear about some kind of Bizarro World piece of legislation, you can bet she has her name attached to it.
BCBS of NC doesn’t really care about people. They’re just afraid someone else will get all the $$$ they’re currently stealing.
If I had the money I pay them out of pocket—and still have a $2000. deductible, I could pay my hosp and dr. bills. And, I just got a notice that they’re going up a hundred dollars a month. Shaking head. I’m just about ready to become an indigent or an illegal and quit worrying about it. That money in my pocket would benefit me far more than BCBS ever will, but for now, I can’t take the chance.
OTOH, if I ever win big in the lottery... I’ll have the satifaction of telling BCBS to kiss my a$$. That’s the first thing on my list! LOL
This was once cute ? Looks like a male Kennedy.
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