Business
Decision over CareFirst reserves delayed
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 12, 2009
Insurance regulators in both Maryland and the District of Columbia will decide by the end of the year if CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is carrying excessive reserves.
Maryland insurance commissioner Ralph Tyler has hired an accounting firm to consider whether CareFirst, which is based in Bethesda, Md., is carrying an excess surplus.
D.C. insurance commissioner Gennet Purcell held a hearing over the matter Sept. 10 and originally planned to release a decision by Sept. 30. But before the deadline passed, her office announced it would delay the decision to avoid a situation in which the district and Maryland reached conflicting conclusions.
CareFirst reported a reserve fund of $1.7 billion in 2008. Its D.C. subsidiary, Group Hospitalization and Medical Services Inc., or GHMSI, reported reserves of $686.8 million at the end of 2008.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/10/12/bibf1012.htm.
