Del Papa to intervene in insurance merger deal

Thursday, Sept. 16, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Nevada merged with its Colorado counterpart in 1998. After the merger, the not-for-profit Colorado company announced its intentions to turn into a for-profit insurance company.

A sale of the company to Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., an Indiana mutual insurance company, is now pending before the Colorado Insurance Commissioner.

Colorado law requires the value of the nonprofit company be returned to its citizens as a charitable trust.

Some Nevada advocates have argued that since Nevada is now part of the Colorado company, that part of the $140 million value should come back to the state.

Efforts by these Nevada advocates to get legislative support to go after a share of the sale of the company failed.

Del Papa said that since the merger, the company's business in Nevada has approximately doubled.

"Because Nevadans comprise a significant portion of the Colorado company's business, the attorney general's office will argue that fairness and the law dictate that the portion of the business' value that is attributable to Nevada subscribers be committed to Nevada citizens," Del Papa said in a news release.

Nevada's request to intervene will be filed by Friday. Hearings before the Colorado Insurance Commissioner will begin Oct. 15 in Denver.