Blue Cross in hot water over North Carolina letter campaign

[DearAbby]

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is under investigation for possible violations of the law in a letter and robo-call campaign it launched to oppose health care reform.

As Raw Story reported last month, the insurer -- the largest in the North Carolina market -- sent out letters to its customers informing them of an average 11 percent increase in their premiums.

Shortly after, those customers received a mailer from BCBS urging them to write to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) and ask her to oppose health care reform.

That drew outrage from some BCBS customers, who marked up the insurer's postage-paid form letter to Sen. Hagan so that it would read as a letter of support for health care reform (see picture below).

The Institute for Southern Studies reported this week that BCBS's letter campaign, and a follow-up robo-call campaign, are now the focus of North Carolina legislators, 20 of whom wrote to the state's attorney general asking for an investigation.

More at Link:

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/blue-cross-north-carolina-campaign/

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Not "hot water!"

:scared:

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. It was one of our own DU people who marked the card

pictured in the story and called this to our attention.
Several other DU members in NC got involved in spreading the word of BCBS behavior.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:


ha...found the DU links... shout out to Lex who identified the issue.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6853620
and
drm604
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6854919#6855462

[zazen]

3. TPM took credit for breaking the story also, but thanks to Lex

The head/founder of the lobbying firm for NC BCBS is the former head of the NC Democratic Party. Nice, eh?

If you or one of your turncoat employees, some of whom were progressives (I thought) back at Carolina, is reading this, pray explain yourselves.

[me b zola]

4. K&R

[Nikki Stone1]

5. Hot water? Why not boiling oil?

:)