A.M. Best Withdraws Ratings of Mhealth Insurance Company

A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “bbb” from “a-” of Mhealth Insurance Company (Houston, TX), formerly known as UNICARE Health Insurance Company of Texas. The outlook for both ratings is stable. Concurrently, A.M. Best has withdrawn the ratings of Mhealth Insurance Company due to the lack of an interactive rating relationship with its new parent company, Mhealth, Inc.

The rating downgrades are due to the change in ownership of this entity. In the third quarter of 2011, Mhealth Insurance Company was sold by WellPoint Inc. to Mhealth, Inc., and subsequently, its name was changed. Prior to the sale, Mhealth Insurance Company’s ratings reflected the benefit of being a subsidiary of WellPoint Inc.

Prior to the change in ownership, Mhealth Insurance Company primarily wrote Medicare supplement policies. This business was reinsured back to a subsidiary within WellPoint Inc., and the company assumed a smaller amount of commercial individual and group accident and health business from its new parent organization.

The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best’s rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Key criteria utilized include: “Rating Health Insurance Companies”; “Rating Members of Insurance Groups”; and “Understanding BCAR for Life/Health Insurers.” Best’s Credit Rating Methodology can be found at http://www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.