William J. Marino, the longest serving CEO of a Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, is retiring as chairman and CEO of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, effective March 1, 2001, the company announced.

Insurance brokers, nervously waiting to see how health reform will affect their compensation, have been told by Maryland’s largest health insurer that small-group commissions will drop by 15%, starting next year.

Washington, D.C., insurance regulators are again delaying a decision on whether the reserves possessed by CareFirst’s District subsidiary, Group Hospitalization and Medical Services Inc., are excessive.

Blue Cross Blue Shield companies suffered a 40.7% average drop in underwriting earnings last year, part of a mixed bag financially.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s plans to release the first of four reports on competition among the state’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers has hit a legal roadblock.

Under the national spotlight for alleged rescissions of patients with breast cancer, national health insurer WellPoint said it will implement reforms on the practice well ahead of a deadline set under recent health reform.

The two biggest health insurance companies in Pennsylvania say the new health reform law falls short, while a regional Blues executive predicts the possible demise of small-group insurance in the U.S.

On the heels of WellPoint and UnitedHealthcare announcing plans to close a coverage gap for young adults before federal health reform efforts kick in, Aetna and all Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies announced they would do the same.

A Branchburg, N.J., man, pretending to be a licensed psychologist, along with his female accomplice, recently pleaded guilty to defrauding several health insurers, including Aetna and UnitedHealthcare.

Independence Blue Cross will begin offering a Student PPO in the fall, an extension of its brand into the colleges and universities in Southeastern Pennsylvania.