MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Premera Blue Cross is asking the state insurance commissioner to delay a decision on the insurer’s contested proposal to become a for-profit company.
In a motion released Thursday night, the nonprofit health insurance organization requested that Mike Kreidler extend the deadline for his decision from March 15 to May 17.
The insurance commissioner’s staff is recommending that Kreidler grant the extension. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for Wednesday in Tumwater.
Premera earlier this year asked the insurance commissioner’s office to speed up the decision process, before the two sides mutually agreed on the March 15 deadline.
Since that schedule was set, consultants hired by Kreidler’s office have issued their assessments of Premera’s proposed conversion. Those reports raised warnings about the plan.
Scott Forslund, spokesman for Mountlake Terrace-based Premera, said the company wants the later deadline in order to discuss issues raised in reports with the insurance commissioner.
"This is part of the continual progress working through our application," Forslund said.
Kreidler’s staff agrees on that point, saying the consultants feel that possible problems with Premera’s conversion plan "could be cured through further discussions" with the insurer.
A coalition of hospital and health care representatives that has been critical of Premera’s conversion is opposing the later decision deadline. Cassie Sauer, spokeswoman for the Washington State Hospital Association, said Premera is past the deadline for making major changes to its proposal. She and others have said they are bothered by the "behind-the-scenes" attempt to make alterations to Premera’s plan.
"It’s just odd that Premera had really ample notice from the insurance commissioner about what the deadline was," Sauer said. "It feels late. I’m just frustrated that if they were going to change their report, they didn’t do it by deadline."
Oct. 15 was the deadline for formal changes to Premera’s initial application. That deadline, however, didn’t prevent future changes in order to respond to state officials’ concerns, Forslund said.
Sandi Peck, spokeswoman for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, also took exception with the behind-the-scenes characterization of its discussions with Premera. She said if the conversion plan is changed substantially, the state could hold additional public hearings.
"At this point, I don’t know about that," Peck said. "But we’ve talked about that as being a possibility."
On Thursday, the state will host a public hearing on Premera’s conversion proposal at the DoubleTree Hotel, 18740 Pacific Highway S. in SeaTac. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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