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Triple-S Management Corp. reports net loss in 1Q17

Roberto García-Rodríguez

Triple-S Management Corporation, a managed care company in Puerto Rico, announced Tuesday quarterly consolidated revenues of $722.5 million and a net loss of $4.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, versus net income of $3.4 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, a year ago.

The adjusted net loss for the quarter was $4.8 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, versus adjusted net income of $3.4 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, a year ago, company executives said.

“Our first-quarter performance, while disappointing, is consistent with our internal expectations,” said Roberto García-Rodríguez, president of Triple-S Management.

“The period’s results, when compared with the same period last year, were negatively affected by weakness in our Medicare Advantage and Medicaid businesses. Our MA business will remain under pressure this year, but our annual MLR outlook has not changed,” he said.

The executive said retention has been steadily improving, which helps lower the provider’s cost basis and provide better health outcomes for continuing members, as it “reaps the benefits of our investment in clinical management initiatives.”

Commercial premiums were down 4.8 percent when compared with the first quarter last year, to $205.1 million, resulting from a drop in the fully insured member month enrollment, offset by higher average premium rates of approximately 5 percent.

Also contributing to the decrease in premiums was about $3.5 million related to the suspension of the HIP fee pass through in 2017 and approximately $4 million of premiums generated by the U.S. Virgin Islands business during the 2016 period. In September of last year, Triple-S discontinued the issuance of policies in the USVI.

As for the Medicaid operation, García-Rodríguez said it “will underperform in the first half of the year but we expect to improve its performance for the remaining six months of 2017 assuming our new contract bid for our existing two Medicaid regions is accepted by the Puerto Rico government. This week we submitted a bid for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1, 2017.”

“We have been working diligently on clinical strategies that will address the issues that have hampered our financial results in recent quarters. These initiatives should bear fruit in the second half of the year,” he said, noting 2017 will be another transition year, but one that sets the stage for a marked improvement in 2018.

“Importantly, we are pleased with the rate hike in the final 2018 Call Letter, which will allow us to leverage our 4-star rating in our Medicare Advantage HMO contract. Meanwhile, our life and P&C businesses continue to perform relatively well despite the difficult economic environment in Puerto Rico,” he said.

Consolidated premiums earned were $702.3 million, down 4.9 percent from last year. The decrease was principally due to lower premiums in the Managed Care business, mostly reflecting a decline in fully insured membership across all sectors and the suspension of the pass through of the Health Insurance Providers Fee (HIP fee) as a result of the 2017 moratorium, partially offset by higher life insurance premiums.

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This story was written by our staff based on a press release.
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