Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said he is not giving up in his battle and will appeal a judge’s ruling in support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s ownership of workers’ compensation insurance businesses.
Cox maintains that the workers’ compensation carrier Accident Fund, a Blue Cross subsidiary, illegally shifted money when it acquired CompWest Insurance Co. of California in 2007.
However Ingham County Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield recently dismissed Cox’s complaint. It was the latest setback for Cox over the dispute; three counts he has lodged in the case have been dismissed.
Blue Cross officials welcomed the circuit court ruling, claiming it validates Accident Fund’s ability to own and operate subsidiary workers’ compensation insurance companies and paves the way for Accident Fund to continue to grow its national business, which the insurer said will bring jobs and economic growth to Michigan, its home base.
In her ruling, Judge Manderfield stated that the statute did not bar Accident Fund from owning or controlling insurance companies and did not prevent Blue Cross from indirectly purchasing or owning insurance companies.
She wrote in her ruling that “this decision resolves the last pending claim and closes this case.”
Cox had asked the court to force BCBSM to divest itself of CompWest. Alternatively, Cox asked the court to force BCBSM to recover the $125 million of subscriber funds it transferred to the Accident Fund.
BCBSM is the state’s largest health insurer. The Accident Fund is the state’s largest voluntary market workers compensation carrier.
Topics Workers' Compensation Talent Michigan
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