The Pitt County Board of Commissioners voted to send a letter to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina chastising the state's largest insurance provider over a mailer intended to whip up opposition to a public-run option to private health insurance.

The (Greenville) Daily Reflector reports the commission voted Monday to send the letter.

The county buys insurance coverage from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Commissioner Tom Johnson said the company should not use taxpayer money from Pitt County to send a partisan mailing, which included a card meant to put pressure on Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat who is still considering her position on the public option issue.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield spokesman Lew Borman told Dome that the insurer wants health care reform, but believes the public option will hurt consumers. 

"Our point was these post cards won't have a significant impact on premiums, but we think some of the proposals in Washington could have a significant impact," Borman said. "We feel like we have an obligation to our customers to raise these questions."

That mailer has led some to send letters in support of the public option. The State Employees Association of N.C. is planning to hold a news conference Wednesday to announce a new Web site and campaign intended to counter Blue Cross.

REMEMBER WHEN: Between hazy memories and conflicting stories about repairs to former Gov. Mike Easley's home, the State Board of Elections hearings offered plenty to talk about this week. The hearings gave a glimpse into the type of people who drive big time politics: one Easley supporter said he couldn't remember anything about two $50,000 checks he wrote to the N.C. Democratic Party.

BOUNCE BACK: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina sent a mailer to members urging them to rail against the public option for health insurance. The mailer backfired, leading recipients to lobby for the option. Next time, the insurer might consider using a little reverse psychology.

ALMOST READY: U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat who has been reluctant to stake a position on health care reform, already supported a public option provision similar to the one being advanced in the Senate.

IN OTHER NEWS: Elizabeth Edwards told a Washington-area television station that her marriage to John Edwards could be considered "a great love story." Patricia Gerrick, former chief investment officer for the state pension fund, asked her employees to help with her daughter's homework.

THE FIXER: Ruffin Poole wasn't just a lawyer for Gov. Mike Easley. He was a patronage boss and a fixer and witnesses testified that he was a go-to guy for things like boat dock permits. Poole successfully quashed a subpoena to testify in the State Board of Elections hearings into Easley's campaign finances. (N&O)

MESSAGE FAIL: Mailers sent by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina meant to raise opposition to a public insurance option have stirred up anger and led people to get vocal about supporting the option. (N&O) 

SO CLOSE: The South Carolina legislature is headed to a special session, and economic development incentives, possibly for Boeing, may be on the agenda. North Carolina was eliminated early by the aerospace builder for its 787 plant. (The State)

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has sent a mailer intended to pressure U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to back off a public option.

The mailer includes a post card for recipients to send to Hagan's office, Talking Points Memo reports. 

The mailer states that any public option in health insurance reform would be a first step toward a single-payer system in which the government would run the health care system.

"No matter what you call it, if the federal government intervenes in the private health insurance market, it's a slippery slope to a single-payer system," the mailer states.

There will be plenty of talk in the Triangle about health care in the coming days.

The N.C. Chamber is hosting a conference on health care on Wednesday, Sept. 30, featuring Ron Brownstein, political director for Atlantic Media Co. and a former political columnist for The Los Angeles Times.

Among those taking part in panel discussions at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham will be Bob Greczyn, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Grace Terrell, president and CEO of Cornerstone Healthcare, and and Paul Wiles, president of Novant Health.

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, N.C. Policy Watch is bringing in Wendell Potter, a former health care insurance industry executive who is critical of industry efforts to block health care reform. He will speak at the Marbles Kids Museum at lunch time.

While he won't just be talking about only health care, journalist Michael Barone is expected to dissect the agenda of President Barack Obama for the John Locke Foundation at a lunch on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at the North Raleigh Hilton.

Barone is a contributor for Fox News and a senior political writer for the Washington Examiner.

With his health-care proposal hitting turbulence, President Barack Obama singled out the insurance industry at his town hall meeting in Raleigh on Wednesday.

Obama said at Raleigh's Broughton High School that his plan would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions or doubling people's premiums over the next decade.

Bob Greczyn, CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the state's largest insurer, was quick to react.

"It was disappointing that President Obama used so much of his time in North Carolina bashing insurance companies," Greczyn said in a statement. "We don't believe a government-run plan is necessary to achieve the reform Americans need."

Bill Atkinson, president and CEO of WakeMed cut short a vacation to hear Obama speak.

"I personally support what he has got on the table," Atkinson said. "Most people are worried about change. He is up against some well-entrenched special interests, including my own industry."

Tom Fetzer, chairman of the state Republican Party said the president's plan wouldn't work.

"There are many ways to cut the cost of health care without encouraging the complete overhaul and making government a competitor with the private sector," Fetzer said.

Many who left the town hall meeting Wednesday said they still had questions about the plans working their way through Congress.

But it was at least nice to hear about the plan directly, said Sundaw Miller, 42, who runs the Adara Spa across the street from Broughton High School.

Miller said she hears her clients talk daily about their fears about what would happen with health care.

"It was nice to hear from the horse's mouth what he plans to accomplish," Miller said.

Scott Taylor of Garner came to President Barack Obama's health care town hall worried about the lack of coverage for autism.

Taylor, a Democrat, has two sons. His 7-year-old has autism and his 9-year-old has Asperger's Syndrome. Taylor's health insurance, provided through work, is with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Michael Biesecker reports.

His plan covers some therapy for his sons, but he said it won't pay for speech therapy for his younger son because it was classified as an "educational" issue, not a health one.

Taylor is watching two bills in Congress that would force insurance providers to provide better coverage to families coping with autism. Taylor said he has tried, unsuccessfully, to get Sen. Richard Burr on the phone to talk about the issue.

If he gets to ask a question today, he would ask Obama why autism isn't included in the reform package.

"Nobody is doing anything," he said.

State employees and community activists are planning to protest a health care conference Friday morning.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina will be on the west side of 400 S. Salisbury St. on Friday at 9 a.m. to protest a meeting between health care lobbyists and Triangle CEOs, including Bob Greczyn of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

The group will be calling for health care reform and a public option to make it more affordable.

"SEANC is demanding that Blue Cross put North Carolina citizens first instead of fighting a public health care option that will provide affordability, choice and competition to Blue Cross' 72.5 percent market share in North Carolina," SEANC stated in a press release.

The rally comes on the heels of another protest by SEANC last week outside of Blue Cross's corporate offices in Durham.

Update: SEANC has sent out a corrected press release, noting that the event will be at the Sheraton Hotel on Salisbury Street in Raleigh.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina is planning a protest outside the corporate offices of Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

The protest is designed to put pressure on the insurer to support the public option in President Barack Obama's health reform plan.

Protestors are planning to gather on the frontage road outside the Blue Cross headquarters at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

"SEANC is demanding that Blue Cross put North Carolina citizens first instead of fighting a public health care option that will provide affordability, choice and competition to Blue Cross' 72.5 percent market share in North Carolina," according to a news release from the association of some 55,000 state employees and retirees.

A Blue Cross spokesman said the company has created a Web site to explain its stance on health reform.

Blue Cross "has made it quite clear that we support health reform that covers everyone, promotes better care and controls costs," said spokesman Lew Borman. "We believe effective health care reform can be achieved without a government run plan. However, we believe that government has a role to play in assisting those who can't afford insurance on the private market."

OF COURSE THERE'S VIDEO: The least surprising thing that Andrew Young, former close aide to John Edwards, had to say in his book proposal: there's a sex tape. A year ago, that news might have been shocking. But a sex tape now fits comfortably along the downward trajectory Edwards' public image has been following since he begrudgingly acknowledged an extra-marital affair. Of course, we don't think Young visited the federal courthouse this week to talk about film.

BERGER UNLEASHED: Senate minority Leader Phil Berger ran wide open this week. He blasted North Carolina Democrats at home in the usual outlets, and then let 'em have it in the Wall Street Journal. We're not sure, but we think Berger wants people to know he's unhappy with the majority party.

THAT WAS CLOSE: The House and Senate agreed at the last minute to a bill to keep the state running while they wrangle over the budget. The House got its way and the temporary bill sets a two-week deadline for the chambers to agree. Gov. Beverly Perdue says to hurry up.

IN OTHER NEWS: House Republicans don't like the way Democrats name important bills. No charges will be filed in a case where a Blue Cross and Blue Shield lobbyist was accused of attempted bribery. Former auditor Les Merritt has launched a foundation to expose public corruption. The Republican Party is gearing up to go after freshman Democrat U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell in 2010. And the recession has prompted a drop in the prices of premium liquor, so at least there's some good news.