A Dead End Blue Shield of Many Property MAP ACT TIMELINE N.C
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Rally in Red PAGE 2 FOR DAILY UPDATES VISIT CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM AN AWARD-WINNING JOURNAL OF NEWS, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION FROM THE JOHN LOCKE FOUNDATION CAROLINAJOURNAL.COM VOL. 27 • NO. 6 • JUNE 2018 • STATEWIDE EDITION HEALTH CARE Blue Cross A dead end Blue Shield of Many property MAP ACT TIMELINE N.C. removes PAGE 12: A detailed account of owners, trapped the history of the Map Act, from 1987 to today. Stokes hospital by Map Act, are from network ians, waiting years for a check. still waiting to “I feel trapped,” Cindy said. BY KARI TRAVIS “Like this is the only area where we be paid can be.” Shawn bought the house in he state’s largest health insur- 2002. His real estate agent knew ance company is removing a KARI TRAVIS about the Map Act restrictions but community hospital in Stokes ASSOCIATE EDITOR insisted it wouldn’t be a problem. County from its network after an al- He believed the agent and paid Tleged scheme to score millions in in- LINDSAY MARCHELLO roughly $110,000 for the property, surance revenue. ASSOCIATE EDITOR which then was in an up-and-com- The move is effective Aug. 21. ing neighborhood. LifeBrite Community Hospital of He regrets the decision. Stokes took over Pioneer Commu- Because many of the surround- nity Hospital in 2017 and has since hawn and Cindy Weeks would ing properties are condemned un- taken in 22,000 percent more in lab like nothing more than to der the Map Act, the neighborhood billing revenue than its predecessor, move. has declined, Shawn told Carolina Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Car- They’ve outgrown their house, Journal. Earlier this year, the Weeks olina says. Son a quarter acre in Winston-Sa- house was targeted for a break-in. While under Pioneer manage- lem, but can’t find a buyer. Important papers and valuables ment, the facility billed an aver- It comes down, really, to one were taken, but it could have been age of $37,400 a month for tests. law, which removed basic property worse, Shawn said. To date, LifeBrite has pulled in a rights and left homeowners in real Still, the family feels unsafe in monthly average of $8.5 million for estate purgatory. its own home. the same services. The couple’s property is in the To make matters worse, their On Dec. 27, 2016, a federal bank- path of a roadway planned under 3-year-old son can’t play outside. ruptcy judge approved purchase of the Map Act, a 1987 law that al- Nearby houses were demolished, operations for the Stokes hospital lowed the state to take private land but the debris remains. for $400,000 by LifeBrite Hospital that fell inside planned roadway “I don’t want my son running Management Co., the Winston-Sa- corridors. The law was designed to around and getting cut by a piece of lem Journal has reported. The com- keep down state government costs. glass or steel that they left behind,” pany is an affiliate of LifeBrite Hos- But there was a catch. The N.C. Cindy said. pital Group LLC of Lilburn, Georgia, Department of Transportation In any other circumstance, they “LifeBrite has engaged in a wasn’t required to pay landowners would move. But no one wants to fraudulent scheme to enrich itself until the road projects were under buy a house that eventually will be- at Blue Cross NC’s expense by bill- way. come a pile of bricks. ing for laboratory services that were Decades later, many still aren’t. Chuck Watts, general coun- not payable, were fraudulent, were That left the Weeks family, and continued PAGE 10 continued PAGE 3 hundreds of other North Carolin- Interview: CAROLINA JOURNAL 200 W. MORGAN STREET, #200 Dan Forest RALEIGH, NC 27601 Lieutenant Governor CJ ONLINE PERMIT NO. 302 NO. PERMIT Dan Forest doubles DURHAM, NC DURHAM, down on priorities. jlf.carolina.journal PAID @carolinajournal U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PAGE 18 NONPROFIT ORG. NONPROFIT www.carolinajournal.com [email protected] 2 CAROLINA JOURNAL // JUNE 2018 2018 TEACHER RALLY A SEA OF RED DESCENDS ON RALEIGH AS TEACHERS ADVOCATE FOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MORE EDUCATION Rick Henderson FUNDING @deregulator On May 16, thousands of MANAGING EDITOR teachers and public education John Trump advocates descended on @stillnbarrel the General Assembly for EXECUTIVE EDITOR the March for Students and Don Carrington Rally for Respect. The N.C. [email protected] Association of Educators’ rally drew upwards of 19,000 ASSOCIATE EDITORS marchers advocating for higher Mitch Kokai teacher and principal pay, @mitchkokai more educational funding, and Lindsay Marchello safer schools. @LynnMarch007 Kari Travis Forty school districts closed @karilynntravis to roughly a million students so teachers could take the Dan Way day off to participate in the @danway_carolina rally. Donning red T-shirts and DESIGNER protest signs, marchers flooded Greg de Deugd the Legislative Building to air @gdedeugd their grievances, mostly toward Republicans. Several teachers PUBLISHED BY were removed from the gallery for causing a disruption during session, but others engaged with lawmakers without issue. The John Locke Foundation 200 W. Morgan St., # 200 Raleigh, N.C. 27601 (919) 828-3876 • Fax: 821-5117 www.JohnLocke.org Kory Swanson President & Publisher John Hood Chairman Bill Graham, John M. Hood Ted Hicks, Christine Mele Brad Muller, Paul Slobodian David Stover, J.M Bryan Taylor Edwin Thomas Board of Directors Carolina Journal is a monthly journal of news, analysis, and commentary on state and local government and public policy issues in North Carolina. ©2018 by The John Locke Foundation Inc. All opinions expressed in bylined articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of CJ or the staff and board of the John Locke Foundation. Material published herein may be re- printed as long as appropriate credit is given. Submissions and letters are welcome and should be directed to the editor. To subscribe, call 919-828-3876. Readers also can request Carolina Journal Weekly Report, delivered each weekend by e-mail, or visit CarolinaJournal.com for news, links, and exclusive content updated each weekday. Those interested in educa- tion, economics, higher education, health care or local government also can ask to receive weekly e-letters CARRINGTON DON BY PHOTOS CJ covering these issues. CAROLINA JOURNAL // JUNE 2018 3 QUICK TAKES Bissette hands reins of UNC Board of Governors to businessman Smith Outgoing chairman leaves top slot on UNC board during emotional meeting BY KARI TRAVIS tay in your lanes and keep pushing forward, the outgoing chairman of the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors Ssaid during an unusually emotional meeting to elect new board officers. Lou Bissette, an Asheville attor- ney and the BOG’s outgoing leader, delivered a bittersweet speech be- fore the board May 24, making way for Chairman-Elect Harry Smith, who will assume the role in July. Members Randall Ramsey and Pearl Burris-Floyd also were elected as the board’s vice chairman and sec- RURAL HOSPITALS ARE ENDANGERED. Eighty-three rural hospitals have retary, respectively. All three mem- closed since 2010. SYSTEM CAROLINA NORTH OF UNIVERSITY OF THE COURTESY PHOTO bers ran unopposed and received NEW CHAIR. UNC Board of Governors Chairman-Elect Harry Smith unanimous support. Bissette teared up while thank- ing BOG members for their dedica- is one of many such scenarios play- tion and hard work. His colleagues BLUE CROSS ing out across the United States. responded with a standing ovation. Company of Raleigh. The bidding Rural hospitals are endangered. The scene was a far cry from the Spellings’ process was unfair and didn’t allow other bids, the suit alleges. continued from PAGE 1 Eighty-three have closed since board’s previous transfer of leader- 2010, a CBS investigation shows. ship. presidency, and The allegations are false, Smith Insurance companies, in an attempt Bissette led the board for near- UNC’s strategic stated. He and Allison were simply in violation of Blue Cross NC’s con- to rescue local health care, reim- ly three years, weathering protests advising NCCU to get the best deal, tracts with LifeBrite, and were oth- burse community hospitals at high- and politics, and riding out contro- plan for university he said. erwise unlawful,” Blue Cross stated er rates. The action has been a mag- versies he inherited from former success, highlight The lawsuit was filed by Ben- in legal claims filed May 16. net for money schemes. To date, in- BOG Chairman John Fennebresque. jamin Durant, NCCU’s former vice The company is seeking “com- surance companies have paid near- In late 2015, Fennebresque shook the legacy Bissette chancellor for administration and pensation for the injuries it has in- ly a half billion dollars in fraudulent up BOG members and state legisla- hopes he will leave, finance. Durant was fired in Janu- curred because of LifeBrite’s con- billing charges. tors when he acted unilaterally to he told reporters. ary. duct,” the claims say. “In addition, In Stokes County, LifeBrite, be- recruit now-UNC System President In 2016, Smith discussed a po- Blue Cross NC seeks punitive dam- tween August 2017 and April 2018, Margaret Spellings. His actions al- tential investment partnership ages and injunctive relief prohibit- billed an average of 67,000 lab tests so triggered uproar among universi- with East Carolina University, pro- ing LifeBrite from further perpetrat- through its hospital, BCBSNC says. ty administrators, faculty, and stu- Law. posing to buy an apartment com- ing its scheme.” That tab totaled 525,000 tests and dents. The goal was to rebuild trust plex near the university.