North Carolina Blue Files Conversion Plan

Bob Greczyn, president of North Carolina Blue, put out a statement saying his company wants to convert to increase its flexibility and its access to Wall Street capital.

North Carolina law requires the insurance commissioner to review the conversion plan to ensure that it is fair to customers and that no North Carolina Blue directors, officers or employees will receive a financial reward for the conversion, North Carolina Blue notes.

North Carolina Blue provides major medical coverage for 2.1 million people. It reported $66 million in net income for 2000 on $2.1 billion in revenue.

Anthem Inc., Indianapolis, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield that has five times as many members, five times as much revenue, and five times as much net income has a market capitalization, or total theoretical resale value, of about $5 billion, or about $500 per member, according to Multex.com Inc., New York. At that rate, North Carolina Blue might be have an asset value of about $1 billion, according to National Underwriter computations.