Thursday, March 14, 2019

Blue Cross: Word Salad edition

So this morning, FoIB Jeff M emailed this item about the planned merger of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina "with Portland, Ore.-based insurer Cambia Health Solutions. The two not-for-profit organizations with combined revenue of $16 billion and more than 6 million customers said the alliance will make health care "simpler, better and more affordable."

Wait a minute: what does "simpler, better" actually mean?

Well, it depends. According to the official email announcement:

It might mean "Each company retains its current assets, such as its reserves and capital, and there is no change to the underlying business in our states."

On the other hand, it could be that "The companies will share services, which will cause some resources to shift."

On the gripping hand, perhaps it notes that "Our long-term goal is to make health care more affordable for the individuals and families we serve ... Our expertise, common management and increased resources will allow us to better address rising costs in the health care system by reinvesting shared savings, enhancing price transparency tool."

Okay, but why does all of that remind me of this?

In the end, one suspects that it means "business as usual," only with a bigger footprint.


And as Jeff notes, a look at their website seems to indicate that "they still think healthcare and health insurance are the same."

Yay?
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