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Transparency has its limits; Questions arise about why the transparency-preaching Blues association is getting quiet about its members' fiscal results.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Laura B. Benko

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association touted its commitment to healthcare transparency last week when it unveiled what it called the nation's largest healthcare information resource, designed to provide a wealth of insight into everything from emerging cost trends to best clinical practices.

The database, dubbed Blue Health Intelligence, contains medical claims data on 79 million members served by 20 participating Blues plans. It will initially be offered only to the Blues' large, self-insured clients for help in designing their benefits packages, but could be made available for use by providers and even consumers in the future, said Scott Serota, president and chief executive officer of the Chicago-based Blues association.

With Blues plans covering one in three Americans and enrollment at an all-time high, "We believe the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans will continue to lead the evolution of the healthcare system,'' Serota said. "This major milestone ... will strengthen the movement toward transparency by providing unmatched'' data mined from the claims information of 79 million members nationwide.

"Blue Health Intelligence will ultimately provide an unparalleled depth and breadth of information about a range of health trends and measures,'' said Gail Boudreaux, Health Care Service Corp.'s executive vice president for external operations, and Blue Health Intelligence board co-chairwoman, in a statement. "This information will help Blue Cross and Blue Shields plans work with their customers to develop and offer more valuable employee benefits.''

The effort follows a broader transparency initiative, called Blue Distinction, which the group kicked off amid much fanfare in June (June 12, p. 12).

Yet, for all its emphasis on transparency, there's one thing the Blues association is no longer opting to share publicly: the financial results of its licensed Blues plans. By early June of each year, the trade group has traditionally issued a news release touting its annual systemwide growth. But this year, after internal changes in its media-relations department, the association has decided only to provide key highlights of its plans consolidated results upon request.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina-which is co-leading the Blue Health Intelligence initiative with Health Care Service Corp.-also has chosen this year to stop announcing its earnings in quarterly news releases and phone briefings, as it has done for the past several years. This also comes the week after the insurer announced a $270 million expansion plan for its Chicago headquarters.

The irony wasn't lost on...

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