RALEIGH -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina charged the state employee health insurance plan overhead expenses to help pay for food for company trustee board meetings, the chief executive officer's salaries and other indirect costs, according to an outside accountant's report released Tuesday.
The review of expenses, however, determined Blue Cross complied with its claims processing contract with the State Health Plan in what was charged as overhead and followed the standards the company uses to expense overhead it charged in other contracts.
Blue Cross points out often its profit on the contract is less than 1 percent -- an amount less than $500,000 in 2008. But a state audit last April said the contract language allows the state's largest health insurer to pass along almost any cost to the plan without explanation.
The Thomas Gibbs accounting firm confirmed the State Auditor report's findings while revealing more details about what exactly Blue Cross passes along to the state plan.
The summary, released to a legislative oversight committee, renewed frustrations by the state employees' union and health care advocates over the 2006 contract.
