It doesn’t always pay to be healthy as insurer probe widens

Insurance regulators in Maryland say they are likely not finished investigating the mayor of Baltimore and the insurers that they say bought hundreds of copies of her self-published “Healthy Holly” books, allegedly in exchange for a healthy dose of government contracts and other support.

Maryland Insurance Administrator Al Redmer told the Baltimore Sun on Thursday that he’s likely to expand his investigation of insurers involved in donations or sales of Mayor Catherine Pugh’s self-published books that aim to provide health tips for children.

The Maryland Insurance Administration has launched a review of several insurers that have publicly acknowledged donating tens of thousands of dollars directly to Healthy Holly LLC or to Associated Black Charities for “Healthy Holly” books, the newspaper reported.

Investigators said some of the companies then benefited in the form of city health insurance contracts and Ms. Pugh’s support of legislation they would benefit from.