Colorado State Archives

Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005

DENVER  -  Governor Bill Owens and representatives from Catholic Charities and the Colorado Healthcare Conversion Project have agreed to several measures aimed at strengthening accountability for the Caring for Colorado Foundation, including Gubernatorial appointment of its board of directors. The agreement ensures that there will be no delay in the Foundation receiving the surplus funds from the expected sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield to Anthem.

"I am pleased that all parties could come to together and agree that there needs to be more accountability," said Governor Owens. "We have agreed to work together to ensure greater accountability to the state's taxpayers, who have historically subsidized Blue Cross and Blue Shield."

Troy Eid, Owens' chief legal counsel, and Renny Fagan, deputy attorney general for regulatory law, helped the parties to reach a compromise.

This is the first time any United States governor has been provided with gubernatorial appointments to the board of a conversion foundation created by the purchase of a nonprofit insurer by a for-profit. The foundation's bylaws have also been amended to provide for greater public access to the foundation's planning process for administering the $140 million the foundation expects to receive from the sale of Blue Cross.

In July, Insurance Commissioner Bill Kirven adopted the Governor's proposed changes that include an appointment process for the board as well as an increase in the number of directors who serve on the board from 10 to 15. The board will continue to have a

Community Advisory Committee, whose members will be appointed by the board of directors. The committee will recommend candidates to the Governor for appointment to the board. If the Governor doesn't wish to appoint those candidates, he may request additional names from the committee. The advisory committee currently has 13 members; that number will be reduced to seven.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado announced in March that it was being acquired by Anthem and converted to a stock insurance company. State law requires that because Blue Cross is a nonprofit organization owned by the public, the fair market value of the company's assets must be put into a nonprofit foundation that will serve the unmet health care needs of Coloradans.

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