Earlier this week, we reported that Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina had recently sent out mailers that urged recipients to lobby Sen. Kay Hagan to oppose a public option, which it called “a slippery slope to single payer.” (You can see the mailer here.)
The story was picked up by the Raleigh News & Observer, which added an additional key fact: Just before sending out the mailer, BCBS of North Carolina had informed its customers that their rates would rise by an average of 11 percent next year.
Of course, part of the whole point of the public option is to help lower private insurance rates, by creating a public competitor.
And the Huffington Post has reported that there was also a robocall from BCBS, urging listeners to contact Hagan about “the vitally important issue for our state and nation.”
In other words, this corporate campaign looks even more shameless than it did before.