Aetna Health Inc. - N.Y., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc., and Group Hospitalization & Medical Services, Inc. Upgraded by Weiss Ratings.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003 72 Health Insurers Upgraded; 11 Downgraded During Latest Review Aetna Health Inc. (a 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 corporation), Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. of Georgia, Inc., and Group Hospitalization hospitalization /hos·pi·tal·iza·tion/ (hos?pi-t'l-i-za´shun) 1. the placing of a patient in a hospital for treatment. 2. the term of confinement in a hospital. & Medical Services, Inc. were among the 72 insurers upgraded by Weiss Ratings during its latest review of 494 HMOs and health insurers. Eleven insurers, including Coventry Health Care Coventry Health Care, Inc. (Coventry) (NYSE: CVH) is a managed health care company in the United States. On February 8th of 2007 Coventry agreed to acquire Concentra's Workers Compensation Managed Care Services Businesses. External links
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. companies, mutual funds, and stocks. Aetna Health Inc. (a New York corporation) (Uniondale, N.Y.) was upgraded to B- (Good) from C+ (Fair) based on strong earnings during the past five years, enabling the company to maintain a healthy capital position. Since December 1997, aggregate earnings have totaled more than $268 million with net underwriting income Underwriting income For an insurance company, the difference between the premiums earned and the costs of settling claims. contributing $254.8 million, or 95 percent, to the bottom line. The company's capital, deemed sufficient to cover an unexpected rise in claims, rose to $290.4 million at June 30, 2002 from $167.8 million at December 1997. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc. (Atlanta, Ga.) was upgraded to A- (Excellent) from B+ (Good) based on the company's consistent performance over time. Capital increased $121.9 million, or 70.4 percent, to $295 million at June 30, 2002 from $173.1 million at December 31, 2000. Strong profits contributed to the steady rise in capital with earnings of $44 million, $65.5 million, and $59.9 million reported in 2000, 2001, and during the first two quarters of 2002, respectively. The upgrade also reflects the financial strength of affiliates within the Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. group of companies, of which Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, Inc. is a part. Group Hospitalization & Medical Services, Inc. (Washington, D.C.) (dba CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield) was upgraded to A- (Excellent) from B+ (Good) due to its ability to maintain a steady level of capital since 1997. Capital rose $126.2 million, or 84.3 percent, to $276.1 million at June 30, 2002 from $149.8 million at December 31, 1997. The company has reported positive net income for more than three years, with earnings of $34.8 million in 1999, $47 million in 2000, $46.2 million in 2001, and $18.7 million during the first six months of 2002. In addition, affiliates within the CareFirst, Inc. group are financially sound, with four of the six rated insurers receiving safety ratings in the "Good" or "Excellent" range. 11 HMOs Receive Weiss Safety Rating Downgrades SCAN Health Plan (Long Beach, Calif.) was downgraded to E- (Very Weak) from C- (Fair) due to significant deterioration de·te·ri·o·ra·tion n. The process or condition of becoming worse. in the company's capital position. At June 30, 2001, capital was $19.9 million. However, the 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, suffered a $26.9 million net loss during the six months ended December 31, 2001, which resulted in a capital deficit of $7.0 million. SCAN Health Plan was required to file a corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or plan with the California Department of Managed Care and was subsequently fined. Coventry Health Care of Kansas, Inc. (Wichita, Kan.) was downgraded to D+ (Weak) from C- (Fair) due to a progressive decline in earnings. The company reported losses of $1.8 million in 2000, $7.3 million in 2001, and $5.5 million during the first half of 2002. The downgrade Downgrade A negative change in the rating of a security. Notes: For example, an analyst may downgrade a stock from strong buy to buy, or a bond rating agency may downgrade a bond from AAA to AA. also reflects the weak financial ratings of the company's affiliates within the Coventry Health Care, Inc. group. The Health Plan of the Upper Ohio Valley, Inc. (St. Clairsville, Ohio St. Clairsville is a city in Belmont County, Ohio in the United States. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,057 at the 2000 census. ) was downgraded to C+ (Fair) from B- (Good) due to declines in profitability arising from an increase in health care expenditures. In 1998, the company spent 92.2 cents on medical costs for every dollar of premium received. In 2001, medical costs were eating away at 95 cents of each dollar. The company's risk-adjusted capital ratio remains strong with sufficient funds to cover an unexpected rise in claims. Weiss issues safety ratings on more than 15,000 financial institutions, including life and health insurers, HMOs, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, property and casualty insurers, banks, and brokers. Weiss also rates the risk-adjusted performance of more than 11,000 mutual funds and 7,000 stocks. Weiss Ratings is the only major rating agency that receives no compensation from the companies it rates. Consumers can purchase a rating for as little as $7.95 through www.WeissRatings.com, or starting at $15 by calling 800-289-9222. Note to editors: A complete list of the quarterly upgrades and downgrades issued by Weiss Ratings to HMOs and health insurers is available. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion