A $2.3 billion tax gain for the Blues

The details: Eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax, a policy that ensured companies pay some minimum level of taxes on their income, created a lot of the benefit for the Blues. It also helped that Republicans kept a special tax loophole that only applies to certain Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurers.

• Almost half of the 2017 tax reform benefits ($1.1 billion) accrued to Health Care Service Corp., the Chicago-based insurer that owns Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in five states.
• The next two Blues that earned the biggest windfalls were the affiliate companies in Michigan ($358 million) and New Jersey ($319 million).
• Credits associated with the alternative minimum tax "will have a positive impact on 2018 net income" and future years, A.M. Best analysts wrote in their report.

The bottom line: The millions of dollars spent on tax lobbying by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, HCSC and other Blues affiliates paid off.

What to watch: 2019 premium rates for all health plans sold by the Blues.