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The Daily ReflectorCommissioners vote to send letter opposing BCBSNC mailingBy Josh Humphries
The Daily Reflector
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Pitt County Board of Commissioners voted to send a letter to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina stating disapproval of a recent mailing from the state's largest insurance provider. Commissioner Tom Johnson requested a discussion at Monday's meeting on a recent mailing from BCBSNC that states the company's opposition to a government option for health insurance.
The mailing included a postage-paid card addressed to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., for the recipient to fill out indicating his or her opposition to government-run health insurance. There was nothing sent to U.S. Sen. Richard Burr or any member of the U.S. Congress from North Carolina. “I was concerned in receiving the mailing that the tear-off card was only addressed to Kay Hagan,” Johnson said. “There was no card to send to Burr.”
Johnson said that Pitt County purchases insurance coverage from BCBSNC, and the company should not use taxpayer money from Pitt County to send a partisan mailing. Commissioners Kenneth Ross, Eugene James and Jimmy Garris voted against sending the letter.
“I think we need to stay out of national politics, especially health care,” James said. “I think the less we say about it, the better off we are.”
Commissioner Beth Ward agreed with Johnson. “If this kind of mailing is going to go to one of them, it should go to all of them,” Ward said.
Read more:
http://www.reflector.com/news/commissioner...
Background Threads:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/... ...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/... "Spokesman Lew Borman says Blue Cross will not release how much it spent on the mailings or how many of the postcards it send out."
