Insurer UHA healthy
again, commissioner says
University Health Alliance has been rehabilitated, according to state Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt.
He will ask a state Circuit Court judge tomorrow to allow the health insurer to be released from court-ordered state supervision, which was imposed in July 2001 after UHA's reserves fell below the minimum required by the state.
Schmidt said UHA's turnaround is good news for Hawaii consumers.
"To see the company emerge financially healthy with neither new capital nor an investor is a rather remarkable accomplishment. We are pleased that UHA will become an additional strong competitor in the health insurance market place," he said.
Company President Max Botticelli said UHA, with around 27,000 health plan members, had net income of $4.4 million for the 2003 calendar year.
With $6 million in reserves, UHA is now about $1.8 million above what it needs to maintain the minimum surplus required by law, said Chief Financial Officer Howard Long.
After the court-ordered supervision is officially removed, one of UHA's first priorities will be to reconvene a board of directors and begin planning for the future, Botticelli said.
"When we went into rehab, our board of directors was suspended. What we need to do is reconvene the board. During (rehabilitation), our vision didn't extend out very far. We existed from check run to check run, so to speak.
"So one of the new board's first functions will be to engage in some long-range strategic planning that will take us out five years or so," he said.