Advocates Worry That For-Profit Conversion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Will Diminish Health Care Access

For-profit health insurer Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is "tentatively" slated to purchase the not-for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas later this year, leading Kansas health care consumer advocates to question whether the transaction might hamper uninsured individuals' access to care, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. The Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved expressed concern over Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas' transformation into a for-profit entity under Anthem. KAMU Executive Director Joyce Volmut said she is afraid that the sale could "diminish the availability of health insurance in Kansas," especially for those without insurance. "Our biggest concern at this point would be that health insurance remains available to Kansans because Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the largest provider of health insurance in the state. It's almost the only provider of individual health insurance coverage, at least in terms of offering a comprehensive coverage," she said. She added that she was concerned that the sale of the company to an out-of-state insurer might decrease "local control" over its administration in the state. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius said that Anthem plans to "keep the staff [and] the management local." About 700,000 people are enrolled in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (Myers, Topeka Capital-Journal, 6/20).