Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey received a court order allowing the insurer to keep the details of a $15.5 million contract violation penalty confidential, according to NJ.com.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration fined the insurance company on June 19 and outlined the specific offenses in a letter. On June 29, Horizon BCBS obtained the court order blocking Mr. Christie's administration from releasing a copy of the letter for public view.
Mr. Christie accused Horizon during a June 21 press conference of having "brazenly failed its members" by mishandling claims and withholding financial information, according to NJ.com.
The insurer denounced the governor's accusations arguing the fines were "unfair and unjustified" since they were based on incorrect analysis of claims data.
Horizon argued the letter needed to remain confidential "because it revealed trade secrets and proprietary commercial or financial information…contained information, which if disclosed, would give an advantage to competitors or bidders…and pertain[ed] to an investigation in progress," according to the court order cited by NJ.com.
Horizon has a contract with the state that allows it to challenge any public record request.