BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, which has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits over the past five years, has boosted the pay of board members and top executives while sticking policyholders with ever-higher premiums, a review by The Post and Courier of Charleston found. The nine members of the company's board of directors have more than doubled their reported salaries in the past year, financial filings show. In 2010, two executives earned more than $1 million in salary and bonus pay, and another earned more than $2.2 million, according to the filings. As top earners' salaries have surged, an April financial analysis showed the insurer is sitting on excess capital reserves, money that instead should have been returned to policyholders through rebates or lowered premiums, consumer watchdogs said.
