Oregon Class Action Filed Against Regence BCBS Over Non-Profit Status

In a follow-on to a much larger class action filed earlier this spring in Illinois against another Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurer group, the same Chicago law firm (along with an East Coast personal-injury firm) has turned its sights on Oregon's Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield, accusing Regence of violating its own charter and Oregon law by funneling profits to executive bonuses and hoarding cash, rather than operating like a true non-profit.  This adds to the trouble that the "blues" find themselves in from a ruling two days ago in the BCBS Antitrust MDL proceeding in federal court in Alabama, in which Judge Proctor denied the BCBS' motion to dismiss the allegations that BCBS conspires on a national level to squelch competition in the health insurance market.  The Oregon class action suit likely faces similar challenges on a procedural level before the merits are addressed, meaning that even if the suit proceeds forward, it is unlikely to have any short-term impact on health insurance rates in Oregon.