Document 55 : Docket No. 99-14 : Hearing Decision : Bureau of Insurance

STATE OF MAINE
DEPARTMENT OF PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL REGULATION
BUREAU OF INSURANCE

IN RE:	)
Application of Associated Hospital Service	)
Of Maine d/b/a Blue Cross and Blue Shield	)
Of Maine to convert to a Stock Insurer	)
And Voluntarily Liquidate and Dissolve	)	ORDER GRANTING
	)	MOTION FOR LEAVE
and	)	TO AMEND APPLICATION
	)	TO INTERVENE OF
	)	CONSUMERS FOR
	)	AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
Application of Anthem Health Plan of	)
Maine, Inc. to Acquire the Assets of	)
Associated Hospital Service of Maine d/b/a	)
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine and	)
Related Transactions	)
	)
Docket No. INS-99-14	)
(CONSOLIDATED)	)

Consumers for Affordable Health Care (CAHC) filed an application to intervene in the above-captioned proceeding seeking to intervene as an organization representing the interests of "consumers and the public in health care and health insurance matters." Despite its avowed mission to advocate on behalf of consumers and the public, CAHC included, as support for its application, the fact that various health care provider organizations, including the Maine Ambulatory Care Coalition, are members. In further support of its application, CAHC referenced the fact that both the Maine People’s Alliance and the Maine Council of Senior Citizens are members.

All three of these member organizations have filed for intervention independent of CAHC. CAHC now seeks leave to amend its application to intervene in order to remove the three member organizations from its application. The basis for removing the Maine Ambulatory Care Coalition is that the Coalition seeks to protect the interest of its members as providers while CAHC’s mission is to protect the interests of its consumer members. As to the Maine Council of Senior Citizens, CAHC believes the Council is better equipped to address issues of concern to its senior citizen members and, thus, seeks to delete reference to the Council as well as to Medicare supplemental and Medicare HMOs. CAHC believes those issues may be more fully addressed by the Council. Lastly, CAHC seeks to amend its application to intervene to remove reference to the Maine People’s Alliance on the ground that CAHC and the Alliance have a fundamentally different view of whether to oppose the Anthem/BCBSME transactions.

In a transaction of this size, it is preferable to have persons and organizations with like interests work through a single entity representing the interests of all. In a situation where the interests of a member organizations differ from that of the larger organization or the member has greater expertise as to the particular issues to be addressed by that member, the Superintendent will not require that all members of an organization be represented by that organization. Thus, the Motion for Leave to Amend of CAHC is GRANTED. Any rulings by the Superintendent on CAHC’s application to intervene will be based upon the Amended Application to Intervene.

PER ORDER OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

DATED: November 12, 1999

ALESSANDRO A. IUPPA

Superintendent of Insurance