re: Louisiana BCBS sale cancelled again. Does Elevance try for a third time?

quote:

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Not that what I want matters, but can someone give me the CliffsNotes on whether I do or don’t want this merger to happen, or whether I shouldn’t care?

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You don't want this. At all. BCBS was attempting to merge with Elevance (formerly Anthem Blue Cross, formerly BCBS of California). Once merged, it is likely existing policies would have been honored until renewal, at which time they are free to change terms and jack up your rates. Elevance is notorious for denying everything and delaying payments as long as possible, one of the reasons the Louisiana State Medical Society and Louisiana Hospital Association were so against it.

Also, they were attempting to buy out the 90K voting policyholders for $3K/share, when fair value on a $2.5B transaction would have been $30K. They planned to enter into a 'public-private partnership' with the state, starting a $800M foundation with the proceeds to "better the health of Louisiana citizens", code word for typical Louisiana boondoggle where hundreds of millions of dollars disappear.

To do this, BCBS of LA had to reorganize from a not for profit into a for profit company, requiring voting policyholders to approve a change to the operating agreement. Policyholders were educated about all of this, and encouraged to vote 'no'. It sounds like the shareholder vote was not going to go their way, so they pulled the deal.