HEALTH

Consumer Group Challenges HMO Sale: Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, formally asked regulators to block a plan by Health Net’s executives to acquire the big HMO and convert it from nonprofit to for-profit status for $127 million. The cash would go to a public foundation, as required by law. The consumer group, in petitioning the state Department of Corporations, said the bid vastly understates Health Net’s real value and so would shortchange the public. Consumers Union also asked the agency to change its rules to stop the “looting” of nonprofit HMOs in such conversions by “self-dealing” executives.