State Attorney General Jim Hood hints at action against Blue Cross Blue Shield
As attorney general, Jim Hood has displayed a willingness to take on big business, whether Google, BP, major drug companies or Entergy, if he felt wrongdoing was occurring.
Hood, a Democrat, sent word recently he is eying health insurance giant Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi.
“I have been reviewing intra-state antitrust allegations against Blue Cross for several years,” Hood said in a recent statement. “The immature court filings and refusal to even meet are indicative of a corporation that has achieved monopoly status and thinks it is above the law. We shall see.”
The statement, perhaps a not-so-veiled threat, was made in the midst of the dispute between Blue Cross and Florida-based for-profit hospitals owner Health Management Associates. The dispute developed over the reimbursement rate by Blue Cross to 10 HMA hospitals across the state, including Gilmore Memorial in Amory.
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