News 446 Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota 241 Million Smoking Cessation Awareness Programs Duluth News Tribune

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota is keeping their end of the bargain with the payment they received from tobacco companies as a part of their participation in a 1998 lawsuit. The lawsuit determined the big tobacco companies should be held responsible for decades of health care costs associated with smoking and second hand smoke exposure such as the treatment of lung cancer and emphysema. Unlike the state, most of whose settlement money went into a general fund, BCBS of Minnesota has put the majority of their settlement, $241 million, into smoking cessation programs, education and awareness. Their goal is to reduce the number of smokers in the state by 50% and reduce exposure to second hand smoke by 90%.

Read more: Blues put tobacco money where it was meant to go - Duluth News Tribune - Jan 29, 2006 ... Blue Cross / Blue Shield of Minnesota, which joined the state in the suit, finalized its settlement last fall, and last week announced it's earmarking the lion's ...