UnitedHealthcare withdraws $36.8M<br> extraordinary dividend proposal

 /
/

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner today announced it has received a letter from UnitedHealthcare of New England withdrawing its application for a $36.8 million extraordinary dividend.

A March 20 hearing on the proposal by the commissioner and the Health Insurance Advisory Council drew extensive public comment.

The proposed dividend, payable to parent company UnitedHealth Group Inc. of Minnesota, would have brought the New England insurer’s payment to its parent to $54 million in less than a year, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch has said.

“We want to take time to assess the concerns raised by our Rhode Island members, our physicians and other providers,” the company said in its letter, “therefore we are temporarily withdrawing our request.” The insurer also expressed its continued commitment to the Rhode Island market.

- Advertisement -

Christopher F. Koller, the health insurance commissioner, said today that his office anticipates “a resubmitted application that addresses the short-term issues at hand while addressing larger local issues over the long haul.”
He noted in his announcement that the company’s letter also acknowledged the concerns about customer service and physician reimbursement that were raised at the hearing, and listed steps the insurer has taken in response.
“UnitedHealthcare of New England has obligations not only to its clients and its shareholders, but to the people of Rhode Island,” said Koller. “We are pleased that they recognize the need to meet those obligations.”

No posts to display