HEALTH

Empire Blue Cross Seeks For-Profit Status: New York-based Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health-care companies, plans to solicit state and federal approval to become a for-profit operation in a bid to remain competitive. Earlier this year, New York insurance regulators approved Empire’s request to create a for-profit subsidiary that could eventually assume most of its business. In doing so, Empire, which represents about 5 million New Yorkers, would no longer be forced to accept the sickest people for coverage. But Empire also plans to create a nonprofit foundation to support charitable health-care programs for the poor and uninsured, an executive said.