The health insurance company’s political action committee has focused on five legislative districts, helping the Republicans retain seats in Hood River, Wilsonville and McMinnville while advancing on Democrats in Woodburn and the Medford-Ashland seat that was held by the late Sen. Alan Bates.
Those dollars are coming out of OMIP's reserve fund, and it's unknown whether the other health insurers in the pool would have received that money had Regence not been successful. Check the story for more details.
As nonprofit health plans draw scrutiny for excess reserves nationwide, Oregon sees little effort to rein in surpluses, while Blue Shield of California has challenged the state’s decision to revoke its tax-exempt status.
The parent company of Regence BlueCross BlueShield invests in startups, boosts its for-profit subsidiary, but insurance still contributes 99% of revenue.
Oregon’s largest health insurance companies spent more than $39 million on ads and marketing campaigns in the past two years– but they seemed to find it increasingly difficult to recruit new members, according to a Lund Report review of financial records.
The time clock is ticking for Regence BlueShield to respond to the major problems identified in a market conduct exam conducted by the Washington Insurance Commissioner’s office.
A pre-certification process was instituted Nov. 1 placing barriers in the way for people seeking care from alternative medical providers such as acupuncturists.
