We've been telling you about the campaign by Blue Cross Blue Shield to enlist its customers to lobby against health-care reform -- an effort now being probed by state authorities.
But a very similar effort by another Blue Cross licensee seems to have flown under the radar until now.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (22) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina is being investigated by the state's attorney general for a recent mailer and spate of robo-calls in opposition to the public option, according to a company spokesman.
In October, TPMmuckraker reported that the insurance company had sent a mailer to millions of its customers asking them to urge the state's Democratic senator, Kay Hagan, (D-NC) to oppose a public option. The insurance company also deployed a related robocall.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (13) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)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.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (6) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (5)Health insurers are using every tool at their disposal to pressure senators into opposing a public option.
The latest example: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has sent a mailer -- obtained by TPMmuckraker -- to voters in the state, warning that a public option will lead to "a single payer system," and urging recipients to send a postcard to Sen. Kay Hagan that asks her to "oppose government-run health insurance."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (15) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)
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