October 10, 2019 by matray

Constellation announced a strategic collaboration with the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, the Baldrige Foundation and the Alliance for Performance Excellence, which have a common mission of defining, recognizing and fostering excellence in healthcare, education, business, government and nonprofits. Since 1988, the Baldrige Award, which carries the presidential seal, has been the highest recognition in the nation for excellence across the critical performance areas of the Baldrige criteria found in the Baldrige Excellence Framework.

“As a medical profession liability (MPL) insurance company, we have achieved an industry milestone in our collaboration with Baldrige. It’s a way for Constellation to incorporate Baldrige standards of quality and excellence in what we do,” said Vince Gallucci, Constellation head of national programs and client relations. “Specifically, it embraces our own Constellation Aligned Performance Initiative (CAPI), which is a way we partner with our healthcare and senior living clients to acknowledge and advance their performance metrics. CAPI’s proprietary scoring system enables us to identify our clients’ performance results, as indicated by their scorecard or dashboard and — more importantly — to reward those results using premium adjustments, gain-sharing arrangements, multi-year rate locks and expert support for risk management programs.

“A Baldrige award recipient has demonstrated sustained high performance against the Baldrige criteria, which makes them a client we seek. And we are equally interested in the many healthcare organizations who have embraced performance excellence and are committed to delivering the highest-quality care in the communities they serve. Healthcare has placed a significant emphasis on measuring results and those results, we believe, are critical in determining risk.”

The collaboration breaks new ground for Baldrige as well.

“This is the first time we have been invited into the medical professional liability space in healthcare, and Constellation’s vision is extremely exciting for us as a partner as it allows us to advance our mission of expanding performance excellence across the U.S.,” said Brian Lassiter, chair of the Alliance for Performance Excellence (the consortium of 29 state, regional and sector Baldrige-based programs).

“We admire Vince and the Constellation team for seeing the potential in joining forces to increase the impact of our efforts to achieve better healthcare for all Americans, and for proposing novel ways of extending our reach. They are true pioneers in the medical professional liability market,” said Al Faber, President and CEO of the Baldrige Foundation.

Under the arrangement, Constellation member insurance companies MMIC, UMIA and Arkansas Mutual will reach out to Baldrige healthcare organizations to share the CAPI strategy with them for their business consideration and review. Ultimately, the goal of the collaboration is to help healthcare organizations reduce risk and improve clinical and nonclinical outcomes.

October 10, 2019 by matray

AM Best has removed from under review with negative implications and downgraded the Financial Strength Rating to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to “bbb+” from “a-” of Connecticut Medical Insurance Company (Glastonbury, CT) and its sponsored risk retention group company, CMIC Risk Retention Group (District of Columbia). These companies are referred to collectively as CMIC Group (the group). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect the group’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as strongest, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings were placed under review earlier this year in consideration of various strategic initiatives to be implemented by management aimed at improving operating performance. After conducting internal analysis, management decided not to pursue some of the proposed initiatives, largely as a result of costs versus the long-term benefit of such actions.

The ratings downgrade reflects a revision in AM Best’s view of the group’s operating performance from adequate to marginal. Underwriting losses (after policyholder dividends) have been generated since 2014, primarily due to increased claims severity, diminishing reserve redundancies and a declining premium base.

While the 10-year average underwriting and overall performance ratios compare favorably with the medical professional liability (MPL) composite, the more recent five-year ratios compare unfavorably to the MPL composite. Management has significantly reduced policy limits, implemented rate increases and revised underwriting guidelines in an attempt to improve results, which will take time to become evident due to the long-tailed nature of MPL insurance. In addition, management continues to analyze further options to improve operating performance.