News Briefs: Whistleblower Alleges California Blues Didn’t Pay Taxes

Two Blues affiliates allegedly avoided hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes between 2016 and 2020, a whistleblower said in a complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Blue Shield of California is alleged to have evaded $111 million in taxes during that period, and Elevance Health’s California division allegedly avoided paying $60 million. According to a Stat report, “If the IRS finds Blue Shield violated tax laws, the insurer could owe more than $300 million, an amount that would include the unpaid taxes as well as penalties for committing fraud. Elevance could owe $165 million. If successful, whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 15%-30% of whatever the IRS collects.” The same whistleblower, Michael Johnson, “also filed a similar complaint about Blue Shield in 2018,” per Stat, which the IRS ultimately dismissed.

0

0

0 Comments

0

0

• Health Plan Weekly