A.M. Best Affirms The Regence Group Affiliates' Financial Strength Ratings; Revises Several Outlooks to Positive From Stable.OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed af·firm v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms v.tr. 1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true. 2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm. v.intr. the financial strength ratings (FSR (Free System Resource) In Windows 3.x, the amount of unused memory in various 64K blocks reserved for managing current applications. Every open window takes some space in this area. See Windows memory limitation. ) of B++ (Very Good) of The Regence Group (Oregon) affiliates, which include Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon and Regence Life and Health Insurance Company (both domiciled dom·i·cile n. 1. A residence; a home. 2. One's legal residence. v. dom·i·ciled, dom·i·cil·ing, dom·i·ciles v.tr. 1. in Portland, OR). The outlook for all ratings has been revised to positive from stable, except Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon's two HMOs, which remains stable, owing to owing to prep. Because of; on account of: I couldn't attend, owing to illness. owing to prep → debido a, por causa de their run-out status. A.M. Best has also affirmed the FSRs of A- (Excellent) of Regence BlueShield (Seattle, WA) and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT). The rating outlook is stable. Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon is well positioned for continued performance improvement, supporting the positive outlook. Favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. 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 continue to strengthen risk-based capital. This trend is forecast to continue during the medium term, providing sufficient capital to finance the remaining strategic and operational plans. Initiatives to improve performance complement the group's historical strengths. The firm's strategic refocus Verb 1. refocus - focus once again; The physicist refocused the light beam" focus - cause to converge on or toward a central point; "Focus the light on this image" 2. on core--rather than all--customer segments, improved customer and broker service, refined underwriting standards and increased leveraging of The Regence Group's management and operational resources supplement its excellent brand name recognition and broad provider network access for consumers. The key measure for continued performance improvement will be a profitable shift to membership expansion from membership contraction while maintaining peer comparable risk-based capital. A significant hurdle continues to be price competition for targeted customer segments from several well-capitalized competitors. Market leading business profiles and favorable earnings continue to strengthen the risk-based capitalization of both Regence BlueShield and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. These favorable trends could continue during the medium term, aided by The Regence Group's improving administrative efficiency and leveraging of corporate resources. The FSRs of B++ (Very Good) have been affirmed for the following affiliates of The Regence Group: --Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon --Regence Life and Health Insurance Company The FSRs of B++ (Very Good) have been affirmed for the following 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, subsidiaries of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon: --Regence HMO Oregon --Regence Health Maintenance of Oregon, Inc. The FSRs of A- (Excellent) have been affirmed for the following affiliates of The Regence Group: --Regence BlueShield --Asuris Northwest Health --Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah --HealthWise For Best's Ratings Best's rating A rating A.M. Best Co. assigns to insurance companies based on the company's ability to meet its obligations to its policyholders. , an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings. For current Best's Ratings, independent data and analysis on more than 1,050 health companies and A.M. Best groups, please visit www.ambest.com/health. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at www.ambest.com. |
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