Singing the Blues in Hindi

I spotted this over at LuLac

Highmark sending work to India, seeking buyouts


Top Pittsburgh health insurer Highmark Inc. has notified employees that it will be off-shoring some of its technology work to India, and is simultaneously asking for buyouts among its tech workers and analysts...We anticipate this new [India Delivery Center] contract will not only provide additional flexibility in adding or reassigning staff, but more importantly help keep our projects within budget," a Highmark official said, in an announcement on the company's intranet site...
The move rubs many the wrong way in that Highmark is paying overseas workers with premium money that largely comes from Pennsylvania companies and policyholders, and also from American taxpayers, since so much of Highmark's business is tied to Medicare, Medicaid and military benefits.

From former Blue Cross employee The Yonk:

Highmark and the Blues aren’t just any insurance company. They are home town products with member dues that come from employers, employees of those companies, senior citizens who buy Medicare Supplement plans as well as working people who buy individual plans. All of that money comes from Pennsylvania taxpayers.
Here’s a key paragraph in the story that sums it up:
As a homegrown nonprofit that operates at the pleasure of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the state Insurance Department, Highmark and other Blues claim a charitable mission and, in return for that charitable work, receive a variety of tax breaks from the state and the city. People outside the company, as well as inside, question sending work -- and, in effect, jobs -- to India.

I asked 120th State Rep Phyllis Mundy, who is a big favotite in the Blue Cross board room, for her take:

Well, so much for the Blues' "Social Mission" unless they believe that social mission should extend to India.
Honestly, Gort, sometimes it overwhelms me. So many issues and problems. One step forward and two steps back.
I will check with the Insurance Commissioner and the House Insurance staff as to what, if anything, can be done.
Perhaps the only real solution is to make the Blues go for profit and take away their tax exemption. At least then the 2% premium tax could be put toward a
social mission.

Adult Basic Sings the Blues! Wilkes- Barre

Save Health Insurance for 46,000 Pennsylvanians! Meet up outside Blue Cross of Northeast PA, 19 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre 18711, tomorrow at noon, to stand up and tell the PA "Blues" to fulfill their obligation to the public! The PA Blues now have a $6.5 Billion surplus stashed away, and yet they are refusing to continue funding the Adult Basic program! This program provides affordable health insurance now for 42,957 Pennsylvanians, and a shocking total of 397,671 are on the waiting list. These folks, mostly working people who don't make enough to afford insurance, will be able to get federal health insurance in 2014, but in the meantime they may be left without any coverage if this program isn't renewed.

We'll be releasing a new report by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center at this event and have a chance to hear from people who are at risk of losing the only insurance they can get.

CV: When the legislative session started in 2009, House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-116, Hazleton, introduced House Bill 1 as the vehicle to expand the AdultBasic health care program to include an additional 85,000 jobless Pennsylvanians between 19 and 64. The measure passed the House last year, but last summer's budget stalemate prevented further action.

Now program supporters have lowered their sights. Mr. Eachus is concerned the 50,000 individuals currently enrolled in AdultBasic will lose benefits when a state law requiring financial support from the Blue Cross insurers expires. He is seeking bridge funding until the new federal health care law takes effect.

"Now we are just striving to keep the current program whole," said Eachus spokesman Brett Marcy.

NEPA Blue Cross gives away $45 million

Blue Cross donates $45 million to Commonwealth Medical College

A worthy project but is this what we pay premiums for?

As Represenative Phyllis Mundy previously said:

As you know, I’ve been an outspoken critic of the way in which Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a nonprofit insurer, has stockpiled surpluses while at the same time raising rates.This situation is somewhat different, however. In fact, I find the intent of these initiatives -- such as the creation of a regional medical school -- very admirable.


But, once again, as an overall policy and plan, hard questions must be asked: Is this an appropriate use of the surplus? What are the anticipated measurable results? Are any of the ideas proposed in the initiative better than simply using the surplus to hold or reduce premiums? These are fair questions that I believe deserve straightforward answers.

Blue Cross of NEPA is an interesting "nonprofit" company. The CEO and the other executives at the top of the food chain have salaries in the six figures plus bonuses and Bob Mellow and his fellow board members are paid $25,000 a year plus bonuses. The board members also get $1100 a meeting for some other duties. Nice work if you can get it.

Bob Mellow and Blue Cross

A guest post from my old friend Carl Romanelli.


Conflict of interest is about the most mild term that comes to mind when one thinks of Pennsylvania State Senator, Bob Mellow's post on the Blue Cross Board of Directors. Now to say this is a conflict, well no, it is the ultimate conflict of our interest. In an age when so many Pennsylvanians have no healthcare at all, while BC and other private insurance companies reap record profits, and reform is loaded in the campaign rhetoric of the political candidates; we have Bob Mellow as the Blues inside man. How on earth can we expect Senator Mellow to take seriously the legislation that is before him, like SB 300 (single payer healthcare of PA) when he receives blood money from Blue Cross?


What about mergers, reimbursement, and regulation? Worse, when caught all Mellow can say is that he sees no problem. Well certainly not problems for Bob's bank account.


In Pennsylvania Blue Cross is about the third most powerful lobby, right behind PNC bank and Blank Rome, LLC. Imagine, your state senator serving on the board of a lobby, a PAC, all while taking salary and benefits from the taxpayer in excess of $100,000.00 per year, plus pension. Yet, so many love these frauds like Mellow, Casey, Kanjorski, Shimkus, and the rest of their ilk. True to my radical callings, I protest these phonies and long for the day voters truly vote their interest instead of reinstalling those whose only link to NEPA mining is their mining of our tax dollars for their own selfish agenda.


Carl Romanelli/Luzerne County Green Party

Blue Cross of NEPA

Another example of Blue Cross spending your premiums on something other than insurance.

CV: Blue Cross gave the Democratic Governors Association two contributions of $35,000, according to U.S. Internal Revenue...Unlike donations made by Blue Cross Voice PAC, the non-profit health insurance company’s employee-funded political action committee, the money for the governors association came directly from revenues Blue Cross earns through premiums paid by its 600,000 subscribers and investment income from its surplus...The decision to contribute to the governors association was made by Blue Cross CEO Denise Cesare.

Blue Cross has a PAC that is funded by employee contributions and can give to whoever they want. But using premiums to contribute to political campaigns is another diversion of the surplus they have accumulated and should be out of bounds. They are also planning to spend $175 million of the surplus to integrate local health-care systems and support the creation of a local medical school. Worthy projects but that's not we paid our premiums for.

State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, who has repeatedly criticized Blue Cross for building a surplus instead of lowering its rates or offering rebates to subscribers, said she was “100 percent opposed to this kind of activity.”“This seems extremely egregious if it came out of ratepayer dollars or money earned on ratepayer dollars through investment,” the Kingston Democrat said.

Blue Cross of NEPA is also very stingy when it comes to health care coverage of it's employees and retirees. They just settled a lawsuit over a promise to provide lifetime coverage that they reneged on.

Benefits lawsuit vs. Blues settled