The state health plan covers nearly 62,000 people and the new contract with Regence went into effect earlier this year. Blue Cross had held the contract since 2004 and sued the state over its decision to switch carriers.
The state judge ruled Sept. 27 that Blue Cross did not have standing in its suit and had not suffered any injury through the contracting process.
“We are disappointed that the district court did not address whether the purchasing process was lawful, and are considering appealing,” a Blue Cross spokesperson told the Idaho Capital Sun. “There was not a lawful bidding process used to obtain the best possible value for health insurance for the tens-of-thousands of state employees and their families.”
“Regence BlueShield of Idaho found the procurement process to be fair, transparent and consistent with state procurement law,” a Regence spokesperson told the outlet. “We’re pleased with this outcome. It allows us to maintain our unwavering focus on providing exceptional service to all state of Idaho group health insurance plan participants in compliance with the contract we were awarded by the state earlier this year.”
