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State OKs Medicare Supplement Plan
By Harry Wessel, Orlando Sentinel
January 4, 2008
The parent company of the Any, Any, Any insurance plan for Medicare beneficiaries received an official nod of approval Thursday from state regulators.
St. Petersburg-based Universal Health Care Insurance Co. has raised the required funds and met other basic requirements under a December settlement with the state, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said in a two-paragraph letter to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, also known as CMS.
Both the state insurance office and CMS must give their go-ahead before Universal is allowed to continue marketing its Any, Any, Any Medicare Advantage plan and enrolling new members.
In the letter Thursday to CMS, state insurance regulators said Universal had complied with key provisions of the Dec.21 consent order, including increasing its cash reserves to $116million.
As a result, the state "would not object" if CMS allows Universal "to resume marketing and writing new business."
Marketing of the Any, Any, Any plan was suspended in February 2007 after Florida regulators said there weren't enough cash reserves to support its enrollment. The state moved to close down the plan, but Universal appealed and the dispute moved to the courts.
More than 20,000 enrollees dropped out, though most stuck with the plan, which featured a rebate of the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Universal's most recent report put Any, Any, Any's membership count at 60,000.
The court dispute ended Dec. 21 with the agreement between Universal and the state. Universal acknowledged technical violations of the law and agreed to more than two-dozen stipulations, including more than doubling its cash reserves, submitting to several months of administrative supervision, paying a $100,000 fine and reimbursing the state for $250,000 in legal fees.
The fines and legal fees haven't been paid yet but will be paid no later than Feb.5, Universal spokesman Bob O'Malley said Thursday. The company will work closely with state and federal regulators "to make sure we're in full compliance" with the settlement, he said.
While reluctant to predict when the Any, Any, Any plan would be marketed again, O'Malley said it should be sometime this month.
If and when the plan is back on the market, it will no longer offer full rebates of customers' Medicare Part B premiums. But O'Malley said the plan's benefits would also improve.
The enrollment period for Medicare Advantage plans continues until March 31.
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