The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (BCBSNC Foundation) has redesigned its website to increase awareness of Foundation programs and to make applying for grants easier and more efficient. The website address remains: bcbsnc.com/foundation.

Poorly conceived and hastily introduced legislation in the General Assembly would undermine the financial stability of the state's largest health insurer and place politics above the health care needs of 3.1 million Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) customers.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) has elected Dr. Harold L. Martin Sr., Chancellor of Winston–Salem State University (WSSU), to its board of trustees.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) is seeking to recover millions of dollars in overpayments made to a Lumberton Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist and two medical practices in Robeson County. In a motion filed today in Superior Court in Orange County, the insurer asks to amend an earlier complaint against Anita L. Jackson, M.D. to allege false and excessive billing by the doctor.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and Capital Emergency Physicians, P.A., of Raleigh have reached a new agreement for the practice to serve as an in-network provider for BCBSNC members.

Twelve Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans have filed a lawsuit against nine southern California-based outpatient surgery clinics, seven medical management companies and 34 individuals alleging a massive fraud scheme in which hundreds of patients from across the country underwent unnecessary and sometimes dangerous surgical procedures that resulted in the submission of tens of millions of dollars in fraudulent medical claims. The lawsuit alleges that the scheme, known as "Rent-a-Patient," has resulted in significant financial losses to insurance companies and employee benefit plans since 1999.

To help protect members against identity theft, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) announced that it is dropping Social Security numbers as the basis for member ID numbers.

After issuing an ultimatum for a 36 percent fee increase, N.C. Baptist Hospital in Winston–Salem has cancelled its contracts to serve as an in–network health care provider for members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s (BCBSNC) net income for 2004 was down 21 percent from 2003, to $155.9 million from $196.3 million. This decrease in net income is due to increased medical costs, lower premium increases and investments in technology, programs and services for members. The state’s largest health insurer added 184,544 members served in 2004 and now serves over 3.1 million.

From October through December of 2004, BCBSNC waived copayments for all generic drugs for members who have their prescription coverage through the company. Under that initiative, the company’s generic dispensing rate increased from 47 percent to 53 percent. The number of generic prescriptions increased 390,000, compared to the previous three–month period.