A.M. Best Affirms "A" - Excellent - Rating of Highmark Inc.OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 1998--A.M. Best has affirmed the "A" (Excellent) rating of Highmark Inc., Camp Hill, Pa. The rating reflects the company's superior capitalization, excellent market position in Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania consists of the western third of the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. Pittsburgh is the largest city in the region, with a metropolitan area of about 2.4 million people, and is the cultural center for Western Pennsylvania. and improving administrative cost administrative cost Managed care A cost incurred by the 'business' end of a health care facility or university–eg, staffing and personnel costs, nursing home and hospital administration, insurance, and overhead expenses. Cf Indirect costs. structure. Offsetting factors include poor underwriting Underwriting 1. The process by which investment bankers raise investment capital from investors on behalf of corporations and governments that are issuing securities (both equity and debt). 2. The process of issuing insurance policies. results and competitive challenges the company faces from managed-care organizations and Blue Cross companies both in and out of the state, which have resulted in declining enrollment. Highmark's strong risk-adjusted capital level stems from its historically strong profitability, which is a function of its long-term significant market presence. Furthermore, the company's surplus strength provides substantial protection for withstanding the competitive pressure and other adverse market conditions of the past several years. Highmark Inc. is the largest health insurer in Western Pennsylvania, with over 60% of the market share. Total health-care membership in the region exceeds 2.4 million, over half of which is aligned with managed-care products that include approximately 400,000 enrollees of Keystone key·stone n. 1. Architecture The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks its parts together. Also called headstone. 2. The central supporting element of a whole. Health Plan West, a wholly owned HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, subsidiary. Leading market share secures the company's favorable discounts and partnership arrangements with local providers. Highmark Inc. also offers a full line of employee benefit programs, featuring indemnity and managed dental products, vision, disability, life, stop-loss and workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. programs to individuals or groups. Furthermore, the company is one of the nation's largest fiscal intermediaries fiscal intermediary Part A Contractor Medicare A private company that has a contract with Medicare to pay part A and some part B bills. See Medicare, Part A. for government sponsored programs, Medicare Part A and B, which serves to reduce marginal administrative expenses and strengthen provider relations. Earnings performance over the past three years has diminished considerably due to a combination of pricing pressures, escalating claim costs and administrative recovery shortfalls. As a result, the company has aggressively implemented several initiatives to improve earnings performance and increase its capital position in the future. Improvements will depend on the premium recovery plan, as well as administrative and customer service enhancements currently being implemented. A.M. Best also has affirmed the "A" (Excellent) rating of Keystone Health Plan West, Camp Hill, Pa., and the "A-" (Excellent) ratings of Trans-General Life Insurance Co., Hartford, Conn.; and Trans-General Life Insurance Company of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is America's oldest and most widely recognized insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com. |
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