Beau Biden??? Who would have thunk it?
Attorney General Beau Biden says he will oppose the merger of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware and Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. unless regulators require Blue Cross to set aside $45 million to pay for programs that support uninsured Delawareans.
Biden’s office acknowledges that it does not have veto power over the deal. It will push for the condition at public hearings scheduled for next month.
Still, Biden’s demand, which has irked insurance regulators charged with approving or denying the deal, comes after earlier failed attempts to set up a foundation for uninsured Delawareans as a part of the deal. This time around, Biden expressed his position in a letter last week to lawyers for Blue Cross and Highmark.
“For more than 75 years, Delawareans have invested in BCBSD by granting it the tax favorable status of a not-for-profit corporation,” Biden wrote. The deal, which will result in Highmark controlling Blue Cross, “places the public investment at risk of being diverted for other purposes,” he added.
Couple this with his stand against the proposed settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices without adequate investigation, where he and New York AG Schneiderman have formed a coalition of prosecutors ready to take on the big banks, and I think Beau Biden is overdue for some respect.
One problem with progressives and why we are not more successful is that our instinct is not to reward good behavior but to punish impurity and past transgressions.