South Carolina might be an unlikely place from which to run a small healthcare empire, but the state's oldest health insurance company is doing just that.
For the 13th year in a row, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina has garnered and A+ financial rating from A.M. Best, with a long-term credit rating of aa-.
The nonprofit BCBSSC is poised to keep up bustling business, with more than a million health plan members in South Carolina representing a two-thirds market share and a family of subsidiaries serving various health sectors.
Based on 2014, A.M. Best concluded, "The organization's infrastructure, with its multiple specialty and administration subsidiaries, was strategically developed to operate in a complementary and highly efficient manner allowing it to be the only health insurer and administrator to compete in all market segments in South Carolina."
As of September 2014, the company had $85 million in net income, $3.1 billion in assets and $2.1 billion in capital and surplus, with more than 10 months of reserves to pay claims.
Among the company's strengths, according to the ratings agency, are its information technology services for public and private clients, including Medicare and Tricare, its "insourcing" of back-office services for other insurance companies and its institutional brand. "Largely due to the growth of our government programs and subsidiary companies, we have more than 11,000 employees, earning us honors as a top employer for the state," the insurer boasts.
While there is competition from UnitedHealthcare and the co-op Consumers' Choice Health Plan, BCBSSC is the only insurer in the state offering insurance across all segments, from individual and self-funded products to Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.
"This rating reflects the financial strength of our total group of more than 40 companies," said David Pankau, BCBSSC president and chief executive officer. "It's a testament to the great performance and hard work of our employees and to the loyalty we have with our customers, who depend on us for excellence, stability and leadership."
Pankau has been with the company for 20 years and took the job of CEO in 2010, following the 18-year tenure of Edward Sellers, who at age 70 remains chair of the board of directors. In January, the insurer named a new chief medical officer and vice president of clinical innovation, Shawn Stinson, MD, the former chief quality and patient safety officer for the Palmetto Health system.