Consumer advocates and a labor union have filed an appeal seeking to block a massive reorganization of New Jersey’s largest health insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. “Those 3.6 million policyholders are the most important factor here and the stakes are incredibly high,” said Maura Collinsgru of New Jersey Citizen Action.
The Murphy administration recently greenlighted a major corporate reorganization at the Newark-based insurance giant that gives up almost one-third of its reserve capital. “What does that do to premiums? And that question is unanswered, right,” Collinsgru said. “We know that there’s benefit to the company. We don’t have those same assurances that there’s benefit to the policyholders.”
New Jersey Citizen Action appealed the decision by the state Department of Banking and Insurance, or DOBI, to approve the reorganization. Joining in the suit is HPAE, a major health care workers union. DOBI said it does not comment on lawsuits. Horizon is an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News.
