Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield Reported Selling WC Unit AF Group

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is reportedly working to sell its AF Group subsidiary, according to industry outlets.
• The unit has put Michigan BCBS among the 10 biggest U.S. workers’ compensation carriers.
• Reuters reported BCBS is working with JPMorgan on a sale process for the nearly $2 billion surplus AF Group.
• AF Group wrote $2.9 billion in direct premiums in 2024 and is the holding company for several providers of workers’ compensation and other specialty insurance solutions.
• BCBS Michigan purchased AF in 1994.
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WVa Supreme Court Reverses Auto Technician’s WC Case

• The West Virginia Supreme Court has reversed an April 2023 lower court decision that had upheld the termination of an injured auto technician’s temporary total disability benefits and rejected a follow-up MRI of his lower back.
• The case centered on whether the claimant’s compensable “low back” injury had reached maximum medical improvement when the claim administrator closed his benefits and refused further diagnostic evaluation.
• The April 15 decision ruled that medical evidence did not support cutting off his benefits or denying further diagnostic testing.
• The claim administrator approved TTD benefits in early 2021 for a limited period and held the claim compensable for “low back” injury.
• The administrator months later closed the case for TTD benefits and denied a repeat MRI, relying on a medical report which concluded the technician had reached maximum medical improvement and could return to full-duty work.
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