MA’s Blue Cross to remain nonprofit public charity

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has decided to remain a nonprofit public charity after examining whether it should seek a different legal status given its extensive business operations as the state's largest health insurer. The inquiry was spurred by outrage over Blue Cross's $11 million payout to its former chief executive, Cleve L. Killingsworth, and the five-figure annual fees paid to members of its board of directors. The controversy raised the question of whether an organization that rivals some of the state's biggest companies in revenues should be considered a public charity.Blue Cross chief executive Andrew Dreyfus and other executives consulted with about 50 community leaders between May and June about the Blue Cross "identity crisis.'' They ultimately concluded that they would not pursue a change. Before the consultations began, the Blue Cross board indefinitely suspended compensation for directors, and there are no plans to reinstate the pay.