Blue Cross Minnesota Seeks End to Labor Department Tax Challenge

A lawsuit accusing Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota of improperly collecting a “provider tax” from self-funded health plans is a flawed attempt by the Labor Department to expand who qualifies as a fiduciary under ERISA, the company said.

Blue Cross is seeking dismissal of a two-month-old lawsuit challenging its alleged collection of provider taxes from its Minnesota health plan clients. Blue Cross unilaterally collected more than $66 million in provider taxes from these plans between 2016 and 2020, the Labor Department said, even though the company’s contracts didn’t authorize the collection and it wasn’t explicitly disclosed to clients. ...