News & Issues piece on Maine Insurance superintendent Alessandro Iuppa\u27s recen

News & Issues piece on Maine Insurance superintendent Alessandro Iuppa\u27s recent decision to allow the sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine to Indiana-based Anthem Insurance Cos. Consumers for Affordable Health Care in Augusta plan to file an appeal of the decision. They say the assessed value of Blue Cross was about $20 million too low and criticize the insurance bureau\u27s refusal to order a new valuation at the time of the closing. Anthem has been buying up Blue Cross programs in broad regions, converting them to mutual companies and in some case publicly held for-profit organizations. A Blue Cross spokesman says regional consolidation is a growing trend and has not affected the essence of Blue Cross\u27s mission. Iuppa emphasized that Anthem will answer to the bureau and will be subject to all state insurance regulations