What If Democrats Tried To Lynch An Insurance Company And Nobody Came?

There’s been a lot of political outrage in North Dakota over Blue Cross Blue Shield. The company has been accused of paying executives too much and buying too many performance perks for employees who do well. More recently, efforts by BCBS to inform the public about Democrat health care “reform” efforts have met with threats of regulatory retaliation by Democrats in the state.
And, to be fair, some Republicans in the state have foolishly joined the crusade as well.
So when BCBS held its annual meeting with policy holders and planned to address this issue you would expect a big crowd to show up, right? After all, they didn’t schedule it like a Kent Conrad or Byron Dorgan town hall. That is, in the middle of the work day in the middle of nowhere so nobody can come. They held it on a Friday evening. In a huge conference center. With security on hand and everything for this mob of angry citizens, which Democrats in the state have assured us exists.
And what really happened? Twelve people showed up.

Public uproar over management practices at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota this past year didn’t translate to a strong turnout at the company’s annual meeting Friday at the Fargo Holiday Inn.
Only 12 policyholders attended the meeting, which capped a tumultuous year in which the state’s dominant private health insurer faced scrutiny for a highly publicized reward trip to the Grand Cayman Islands that led to the firing of CEO Michael Unhjem and a state audit of administrative expenses.

Maybe, just maybe, this entire “scandal” is a bunch of outrage manufactured by posting politicians. Maybe most policyholders, though not exactly happy with rising premiums, are satisfied with the job BCBS is doing executive pay and performance bonuses and all.
I’ll be honest with you. I’m not a fan of BCBS or their 90% market share in North Dakota. That being said, they are a product of the insurance market they’re operating in. And what they pay their executives or what they pay in bonuses or perks isn’t the problem with health coverage in this country.
The problem is government stifling competition. And it seems, at least by last night’s turnout, that a lot of North Dakotans get that.