Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in California evaded $170 million in taxes, whistleblower says

Two dominant Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in California intentionally underreported premiums of certain health plans so they could avoid paying Affordable Care Act taxes, according to new federal whistleblower complaints.

These claims renew concerns about whether health insurance companies have skirted the tax code and to what extent tax fraud could exist in the industry.

Blue Shield of California evaded $111 million in taxes between 2016 and 2020, according to a complaint that was filed with the Internal Revenue Service on June 27. Elevance Health, the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross in California, evaded $60 million in taxes during the same time period, according to a separate complaint filed with the IRS.

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