CareFirst wants court to end rift.

Arguing that it now is caught between conflicting orders issued by the former Delaware insurance commissioner and the Maryland insurance commissioner, CareFirst Inc., the Maryland-based health insurance holding company, wants a federal court to let it file a declaratory judgment suit, saying it needs a resolution to the commissioners' conflicts regarding its affiliation with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware.

Since its request was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, CareFirst said in a statement that "all parties agreed to defer any further action for 60 days" to allow new Delaware Insurance Commmissioner Matt Denn "to acclimate himself to the issues and confer" with Maryland Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer Jr.

"The goal is, and has been, to preserve the business relationship that has been mutually beneficial to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware and the rest of the CareFirst Family," the CareFirst statement also said.

CareFirst is the most recent example of a Blues Plan meeting regulatory resistance over its operational status. North Carolina Blues and Horizon Healthcare have been unsuccessful in recent regulatory wrangling.