Our Mission
The National Other Party Liability Group (NOPLG) is a membership / educational organization, incorporated in the District of Columbia. The purpose of NOPLG is to educate Plan management and NOPLG members on the benefits of Other Party Liability methods and procedures and to organize and present seminars where Plans can exchange information, ideas, procedures and systems and learn of developments in the OPL area.
Membership is limited to BCBS Plans and their subsidiaries.
NOPLG has a 37 year history of annually sponsoring a three-day seminar aimed at training Plan personnel on the mechanics and techniques of administering the following:
  • Coordination of Benefits in instances of dual coverage either through employment or with Medicare Secondary Payor
  • Workers' Compensation contract exclusions
  • Subrogation recovery in instances of third party liability
  • Recovery of mistaken payments
Typically, payment of hundreds of millions of dollars are recovered by other party liability (OPL) activities on an annual basis.
NOPLG is managed by an Executive Committee, which acts as a Board of Directors. The Executive Committee is composed of five elected officers, two immediate past chairpersons, and a representative appointed by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
Our History
During the early 1960's, other commercial health insurance carriers attempted to avoid liability for claims filed by their insureds by declaring Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans to be primary in all instances. In response to this unilateral coordination of benefits, large Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans began to include non-duplication or COB clauses in their contracts. Concurrently, several Plans began adding workers'  compensation exclusions and subrogation clauses in an effort to recover against third parties causing injuries to Plan subscribers. 
The first effort to pioneer plan education in the areas of COB, subrogation and workers' compensation began in 1968 with a seminar in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania when 23 representatives from 11 Plans attended. Mr. Robert Rinehimer, President of Pennsylvania Blue Shield, delivered the welcoming address. The following year, 35 attendees representing 20 Plans participated in the second OPL seminar, held in Baltimore, Maryland.  By 1974, membership grew to 84 attendees, representing 33 Plans.
 
In 1977, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association broadened the educational seminar agenda to include additional non-OPL topics. However, it was decided that because of the critical importance of OPL programs, a national organization to focus solely on OPL topics should be developed. In 1978 the National Other Party Liability Group was formed and organized its first independent seminar in 1979. The inaugural NOPLG seminar was attended by 100 attendees representing 53 Plans.   
Since its inaugural seminar in 1979, NOPLG has continued to sponsor a seminar each April.  The seminar is open to all BCBS Plans and Plan subsidaries.