Major health insurance bill, a priority for Blue Cross, starts moving again in NC legislature

One of the bigger bills of this legislative session — to give the state’s largest health insurer the flexibility to move billions of dollars into a new holding company and let it buy other companies without state oversight — gets back on its path to passage Wednesday.

House Bill 346, a priority for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, is slated for its first state Senate committee hearing. It has strong support in the chamber.

The company and the bill’s supporters at the statehouse say it’s a needed update to old regulations, and that it will allow the nonprofit insurer to compete with for-profit health insurance companies such as Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.

That would give Blue Cross more freedom to buy other companies without having to wait for Causey’s office and, in some cases, Attorney General Josh Stein’s office to review proposals.

Causey has fought the bill, but without much success. It cleared the House last month with bipartisan support. Lawmakers say Blue Cross needs these changes to stay competitive and Blue Cross is one of the state’s bigger campaign donors. Stein said Tuesday that he discussed last week “a series of amendments” with the company that protect company policy holders. If those amendments pass, Stein said in a statement, he’ll support the bill.

But it wasn’t clear Tuesday when those amendments might emerge. Leaders of the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee, which plans to hear the bill Wednesday, said Tuesday afternoon that they hadn’t yet seen any amendment language.

A BCBS spokeswoman said the company has been open to conversations on the bill and that it’s “continuing to work with legislators and other stakeholders on this bipartisan legislation that will improve the health and well-being of North Carolina and its communities.”

State Rep. John Bradford, the bill’s House sponsor, said Tuesday that he wants the bill to pass the Senate without any amendments.

“I don’t plan on running any amendments,” said Bradford, R-Mecklenburg. “This bill’s been out there so long, we need to get it across the finish line. … We’re going to pass this bill the way it is.”

Causey said the the bill will need more work before he can support it. As for the committee hearing, Causey said he’s “just hopeful they’ll have an open discussion and listen to all sides.”