Blue Cross of Virginia v. Com.

In Blue Cross/Blue Shield v. Commonwealth, 218 Va. 589, 239 S.E.2d 94 (1977), we decided the State Corporation Commission had jurisdiction to determine the constitutionality of a statute, amended in 1973, requiring that prepaid medical and surgical plans allow or pay for certain services rendered by optometrists, opticians and psychologists. Subsequently, the Commission declared the statute constitutional. We now review that determination.

As authorized by applicable enabling statutes, a group of physicians as well as a hospital or group of hospitals may conduct within a fixed geographical…