Ch-ch-changes for NC Blue Cross

The Obama administration’s new health care reform law has Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina looking to cuts it’s costs by 20% over the next four years.

The News & Observer reports that Blue Cross expects to carve about $200 million from its annual $1 billion budget by 2014 by eliminating open positions, cutting jobs through attrition, offering early retirement, and streamlining operations.

“Over time, Blue Cross will be a smaller company,” CEO Brad Wilson said in an interview. “It’s all about change. We’re focused on how we need to change to meet the needs of North Carolina.”

As it tightens its belt, Blue Cross also will work with hospitals and other providers to reduce surging medical costs. That will include some “tough negotiations” with hospital systems and others across the state, Wilson noted.

You may recall back in May the nonprofit insurer began testing a plan to outsource some of its IT work to India.

Blue Cross Blue Shield is the state’s largest insurer with 3.7 million consumers in North Carolina.