STAT+: This whistleblower took on a health insurance giant and a political machine. She’s not stopping there
Article excerpt
America’s employers must stop acting helpless in the face of health care industry profiteering, Chris Deacon says.
It should have been a triumphant moment for Chris Deacon.
Last November, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, the insurance giant that manages health benefits for 750,000 New Jersey state workers, family members, and retirees, paid $100 million to wipe away allegations that it knowingly overpaid hospitals and doctors and fraudulently won its state contract.
At the press conference, then-New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin touted it as a “historic” action. “Today’s settlement makes a very clear statement: We send a message to Horizon and to the entire insurance industry that they cannot take advantage of the state,” Platkin announced from the dais, surrounded by his staff. “They cannot make us all illegally pay more for health care.”
Deacon was a driving force behind the settlement. She caught Horizon’s alleged behavior as the top official overseeing New Jersey’s health plan.
But rather than celebrate, she was torn apart by a mix of emotions as she watched Platkin and his team from her home office. She felt some satisfaction that a public display of justice was unfolding. But she also felt disgust, anger, and sadness as officials completely erased her role in uncovering the misconduct and glossed over their own culpability in allowing it to happen.
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