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A pending antitrust settlement means that for the first time ever, Blue Cross plans could potentially compete with one another.
A battle of Blue Cross plans is brewing
A tentative $2.7 billion settlement of an antitrust case would free Blue Cross plans to invade each other's markets. Under the deal, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association agreed to loosen a rule that barred such competition.
That would create big opportunities for Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp., which has been struggling to rev up growth in recent years. The nation's second-largest Blues operator—which owns Blue Cross plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas—would be free to enter markets across the country as a fully national insurer on par with non-Blue rivals like Humana, CVS Health and Cigna. The proposed settlement also lifts a revenue cap on non-Blue business lines and restraints on acquisitions, opening up new growth pathways for the insurer.
A battle of Blue Cross plans is brewing
A tentative $2.7 billion settlement of an antitrust case would free Blue Cross plans to invade each other's markets. Under the deal, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association agreed to loosen a rule that barred such competition.
That would create big opportunities for Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp., which has been struggling to rev up growth in recent years. The nation's second-largest Blues operator—which owns Blue Cross plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas—would be free to enter markets across the country as a fully national insurer on par with non-Blue rivals like Humana, CVS Health and Cigna. The proposed settlement also lifts a revenue cap on non-Blue business lines and restraints on acquisitions, opening up new growth pathways for the insurer.
