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Blue Cross To Pay $4.2 Million To Ratepayers In Massachusetts

BOSTON (AP) -- The state's largest insurer plans to rebate $4.2 million to its ratepayers to offset the cost of a controversial severance package to former chief executive Cleve Killingsworth.

Attorney General Martha Coakley disclosed the decision by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts on Wednesday following an investigation by her office.

Cleve Killingsworth
Cleve Killingsworth reportedly received a large severance after he resigned last year.

Coakley said the probe determined that Killingsworth was entitled to the hefty severance package under his contract with the insurer, but that such contracts were "costly both in dollars and public perceptions."

Killingsworth resigned in March 2010 after five years on the job.

Blue Cross Blue Shield, a not-for-profit company, moved separately earlier this year to suspend pay for its board members, a practice that had also been sharply criticized by the attorney general.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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