The concept was spun off as a for-profit subsidiary in 1999.

The service's for-profit subsidiary, the Chauncey Group, tested the skills of 1.5 million workers in 34 fields last year.

Nonprofit organizations create for-profit subsidiaries for a variety of business reasons.

On other occasions, a nonprofit may set up a for-profit subsidiary to go after business unrelated to its central purpose.

But the great majority already operate health maintenance organizations as for-profit subsidiaries.

Since then, the Louisiana plan has paid more than $13 million to a for-profit subsidiary of the Mississippi plan to handle its management.

This year the for-profit subsidiary will contribute about $300,000.

There are several wholly owned for-profit subsidiaries of Highmark.

Increasingly, charities are learning how to use perfectly legal but easily abused for-profit subsidiaries in ways that can confuse the picture.

The board also faced criticism when it used outside investors to help create a for-profit subsidiary, CollegeBoard.com.