Item 1.

Business

General Description of Business and Recent Developments

Triple-S Management Corporation (“Triple-S”, “TSM”, the “Company”, the “Corporation”, “we”, “us” or “our”) is one of the most significant players in the managed care industry in Puerto Rico, serving approximately 978,000 members, with a 27% market share in terms of premiums written in Puerto Rico for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017.  We have the exclusive right to use the Blue Cross and Blue Shield (“BCBS”) name and mark throughout Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla and over 55 years of experience in the managed care industry.  We offer a broad portfolio of managed care and related products in the Commercial, Medicaid and Medicare markets. We market our managed care products through an extensive network of independent agents and brokers located throughout Puerto Rico as well as an internal salaried sales force. We provided administration services only or self-insured (“ASO”) managed care services to the Plan de Salud del Gobierno (similar to Medicaid) (“PSG” or “Medicaid”) island-wide until March 31, 2015.  Effective April 1, 2015, the government changed the Medicaid delivery model from an ASO to a risk-based model and we elected to participate in this sector as a fully-insured provider in only two of the eight regions of Puerto Rico.  PSG is funded by the Government of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Government.

We also offer complementary products and services, including life insurance, accident and disability insurance and property and casualty insurance.  We are one of the leading providers of life insurance policies in Puerto Rico.

A substantial majority of our premiums are from customers within Puerto Rico.  In addition, most of all of our long-lived assets, other than financial instruments, including deferred policy acquisition costs and value of business acquired, goodwill and other intangibles, and the deferred tax assets are related to Puerto Rico.

Operating revenues (with intersegment premiums/service revenues shown separately), operating income and total assets attributable to the reportable segments are set forth in note 26 of the audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

In August 2017, we announced the immediate commencement of a Class B $30.0 million share repurchase program, as authorized by our Board of Directors. In February 2018 the Board of Directors authorized a $25.0 million expansion to the existing $30.0 million Class B repurchase program. This program is conducted in accordance with Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

On August 29, 2017, TSS and OptumInsight, Inc. (“Optum”) entered into a Master Services Agreement (the “Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Optum will provide healthcare technology and operations services, including information technology, claims processing and application development, to TSS and its affiliates.  The Agreement was effective August 31, 2017 (the “Effective Date”) and is expected to create further operating efficiencies, mostly in the Managed Care operations. The agreement has an initial term of ten (10) years but TSS has the right to extend the term of the Agreement for two (2) additional one (1) year terms.  Under the terms of the Agreement, Optum will: (i) continue providing services already provided to TSS and its affiliates, (ii) provide new services requested by TSS and (iii) provide services in support of any third party administrator arrangements entered into by TSS or its affiliates, in accordance with the terms of separate statements of work to be entered into by the parties. The different services being offered by Optum will be implemented in phases beginning in 2018. The Agreement is subject to the approval of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (“ASES” by its Spanish acronym).

 

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to “shares” or “common stock” refer collectively to our Class A and Class B common stock, unless the context indicates otherwise.

 

Industry Overview

Managed Care

In response to an increasing focus on health care costs by employers, the government and consumers, there has been an increase in alternatives to traditional indemnity health insurance, such as HMOs and PPOs.  Through the introduction of these alternatives the managed care industry has attempted to contain the cost of health care by negotiating contracts with hospitals, physicians and other providers to deliver health care to plan members at favorable rates.  These products usually feature medical management and other quality and cost optimization measures such as pre-admission review and approval for certain non-emergency services, pre-authorization of certain outpatient surgical procedures, network credentialing to determine that network doctors and hospitals have the required certifications and expertise, and various levels of care management programs to help members better understand and navigate the medical system.  In addition, providers may have incentives to achieve certain quality measures or may share medical cost risk.  Members generally pay co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles when they receive services.  While the distinctions between the various types of plans have lessened over recent years, PPO products generally provide reduced benefits for out-of-network services, while traditional HMO products generally provide little to no reimbursement for non-emergency out-of-network utilization.  An HMO plan may also require members to select one of the network primary care physicians (“PCPs”) to coordinate their care and approve any specialist or other services.

The government of the United States of America (the “U.S. government” or “federal government”) provides hospital and medical insurance benefits to eligible people aged 65 and over as well as certain other qualified persons through the Medicare program, including the Medicare Advantage program.  The federal government also offers prescription drug benefits to Medicare eligibles, both as part of the Medicare Advantage program and on a stand-alone basis, pursuant to Medicare Part D (also referred to as “PDP stand-alone product” or “PDP”).  In addition, the Government of Puerto Rico provides managed care coverage to the medically indigent population of Puerto Rico.

Economic factors and greater consumer awareness have resulted in (a) the increasing popularity of products that offer larger, more extensive networks, more member choice related to coverage, physicians and hospitals, greater access to preventive care and wellness programs, and a desire for greater flexibility for customers to assume larger deductibles and co-payments in return for lower premiums and (b) products with lower benefits and a narrower network in exchange for lower premiums.  We believe we are well positioned to respond to these market preferences due to the breadth and flexibility of our product offering and size of our provider networks.

Life Insurance

Total annual premiums in Puerto Rico for the year ended December 31, 2016 for the life insurance market approximated $1.5 billion.  The main products in this market are ordinary life, cancer and other dreaded diseases, term life, disability and annuities.  The main distribution channels are independent agents.  Banks have established general agencies to cross sell life insurance products, such as term life and credit life.

Property and Casualty Insurance

The total property and casualty market in Puerto Rico in terms of gross premiums written for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 was approximately $1.3 billion.  Property and casualty insurance companies compete for the same accounts through aggressive pricing, more favorable policy terms and better quality of services.  The main lines of business in Puerto Rico are personal and commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, fire and allied lines and other general liabilities.  Approximately 67% of the market is written by the top six insurance groups or companies in terms of market share, and approximately 87% of the market is written by companies incorporated under the laws of and which operate principally in Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican property and casualty insurance market is highly dependent on reinsurance.  In September 2017 Puerto Rico was hit by two hurricanes causing severe damages and losses to the insurance market. Moreover, the reinsurance market was impacted even more by other natural catastrophes in the second semester of 2017.  As a result, reinsurance costs are expected to increase significantly in 2018 and subsequent periods; which will also have an effect in the insurance market in Puerto Rico.

 

Puerto Rico’s Economy

The dominant sectors of the Puerto Rico economy in terms of production and income are manufacturing and services.  The current manufacturing sector now places increased emphasis on higher wages, high technology industries, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, computers, microprocessors, professional and scientific instruments, and certain high technology machinery and equipment with almost 90% of manufacturing generated by chemical and electronic products.  The services sector, which includes finance, insurance, real estate, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, communications and public utilities, and other services, plays a major role in the economy.  It ranks second to manufacturing in contribution to the gross domestic product and leads all sectors in providing employment.

The economy of Puerto Rico is affected by external factors determined by the U.S. economy and the policies and results of the U.S. Government.  These external factors include exports, direct investment, the amount of federal transfer payments, the level of interest rates, the rate of inflation, and revenues derived from tourism coming from the U.S.  Generally, the economy of Puerto Rico has followed the economic trends of the U.S. economy.  However, recently the economic growth in Puerto Rico has not been consistent with the performance of the U.S. economy.  The Government of Puerto Rico has faced a number of fiscal challenges, including an imbalance between its general fund revenues and expenditures, reaching its highest level in fiscal year 2009 with a deficit of $3.3 billion.  Recurrent budget deficits have substantially increased the amount of public sector debt.  The total outstanding public sector debt amounted to $68.7 billion as of July 31, 2016, the latest published information by the government.  In 2016, Puerto Rico defaulted on various types of debt, which included General Obligation bonds, after a local debt moratorium provision was evoked.

On June 30, 2016, the President of the United States signed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”), which grants the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Government” or the “Commonwealth”) and its component units, access to an orderly mechanism to restructure their debts in exchange for significant federal oversight over the Commonwealth’s finances. In general, PROMESA seeks to provide Puerto Rico with fiscal and economic discipline through the creation of a control board, relief from creditor lawsuits through the enactment of a temporary stay on litigation, and two alternative methods to adjust unsustainable debt.

See “Item 1A.   Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business – Our business is geographically concentrated in Puerto Rico and weakness in the economy and the fiscal health of the government has adversely impacted and may continue to adversely impact us, particularly following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. ’’

Products and Services

Managed Care

Through our subsidiaries TSS and Triple-S Advantage, Inc. (“TSA”), we offer a broad range of managed care products, including HMO plans, PPO plans, Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid plans.  Managed care products represented approximately 92% of our consolidated premiums earned before elimination, net for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.  We design our products to meet the needs and objectives of a wide range of customers, including employers, professional and trade associations, individuals and government entities.  Our customers either contract with us to assume underwriting risk or they self-fund underwriting risk and rely on us for provider network access, medical cost management, claim processing, stop-loss insurance and other administrative services.  Our products vary with respect to the level of benefits provided, the costs paid by employers and members, including deductibles and co-payments, and the extent to which our members' access to providers is subject to referral or preauthorization requirements.

Managed care generally refers to a method of integrating the financing and delivery of health care within a system that manages the cost, accessibility and quality of care.  Managed care products can be further differentiated by the types of provider networks offered, the ability to use providers outside such networks and the scope of the medical management and quality assurance programs.  Our members receive medical care from our networks of providers in exchange for premiums paid by the individuals or their employers, including governmental entities, and, in some instances, a cost-sharing payment between the employer and the member.  We reimburse network providers according to pre-established fee arrangements and other contractual agreements.

 

We currently offer the following managed care plans:

Health Maintenance Organization (“HMO”).      We offer HMO plans that provide members with health care coverage for a fixed monthly premium in addition to applicable member co-payments.  Health care services can include emergency care, inpatient hospital and physician care, outpatient medical services and supplemental services such as dental, vision, behavioral and prescription drugs, among others.  Members must select a primary care physician within the network to provide and assist in managing care, including referrals to specialists.

Preferred Provider Organization (“PPO”).     We offer PPO managed care plans that provide our members and their dependent family members with health care coverage in exchange for a fixed monthly premium.  In addition, we provide our PPO members with access to a larger network of providers than our HMO.  In contrast to our HMO product, we do not require our PPO members to select a primary care physician or to obtain a referral to utilize in-network specialists.  We also provide coverage for PPO members who access providers outside of the network.  Out-of-network benefits are generally subject to a higher deductible and coinsurance.  We also offer national in-network coverage to our PPO members through the BlueCard program.

BlueCard.     For our members who purchase our PPO and selected members under ASO arrangements through our subsidiary TSS, we offer the BlueCard program.  The BlueCard program offers these members in-network benefits through the networks of the other BCBS plans in the United States and certain U.S. territories.  In addition, the BlueCard worldwide program provides our PPO members with coverage for medical assistance worldwide.  We believe that the national and international coverage provided through this program allows us to compete effectively with large national insurers.

Medicare Supplement.     We offer Medicare Supplement products, which provide supplemental coverage for many of the medical expenses that the Medicare Parts A and B programs do not cover, such as deductibles, coinsurance and specified losses that exceed these programs’ maximum benefits.

ASO.     In addition to our fully insured plans, we also offer our PPO products on a self-funded or ASO basis, under which we provide claims processing and other administrative services to employers.  Employers choosing to purchase our products on an ASO basis fund their own claims, but their employees are able to access our provider network at our negotiated discounted rates.  We administer the payment of claims to the providers but we do not bear any insurance risk in connection with claims costs because we are reimbursed in full by the employer, thus we are only subject to credit risk in this business.  For certain self-funded plans, we provide stop loss insurance pursuant to which we assume some of the medical risk for a premium.  The administrative fee charged to self-funded groups is generally based on the size of the group and the scope of services provided.

Life Insurance

We offer a wide variety of life, accident, disability and health and annuity products in Puerto Rico through our subsidiary Triple-S Vida, Inc. (“TSV”).  Life insurance premiums represented approximately 6% of our consolidated premiums earned, before elimination, for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.  TSV markets in-home service life and supplemental health products through a network of company-employed agents.  Ordinary life, cancer and dreaded diseases (“Cancer” line of business), and pre-need life products are marketed through independent agents.  TSV is the leading distributor of life products in Puerto Rico.  We are the only home service company in Puerto Rico and offer guaranteed issue, funeral and cancer policies to the lower and middle income market segments directly to people in their homes.  We also market our group life and disability coverage through our independent producers.

Property and Casualty Insurance

We offer a wide range of property and casualty insurance products through our subsidiary Triple-S Propiedad, Inc. (“TSP”).  Property and casualty insurance net premiums earned represented approximately 3% of our consolidated premiums earned, net before elimination for each of the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.  Our predominant insurance products are commercial multi-peril package, personal package, commercial auto, hospital malpractice, commercial liability, and commercial property.  This segment’s commercial products target small to medium size accounts.

 

Due to our geographical location, property and casualty insurance operations in Puerto Rico are subject to natural catastrophic activity, in particular hurricanes, tropical storms and earthquakes.  As a result, local insurers, including ourselves, rely on the international reinsurance market.  The property and casualty insurance market is affected by the cost of reinsurance, which varies with the catastrophic experience.

We maintain a comprehensive reinsurance program as a means of protecting our surplus in the event of a catastrophe.  Our policy is to enter into reinsurance agreements with reinsurers considered to be financially sound.  Practically all our reinsurers have an A.M. Best rating of ‘‘A-’’ or better, or an equivalent rating from other rating agencies.  During the year ended December 31, 2017, 43.3% of the premiums written in the property and casualty insurance segment were ceded to reinsurers.  Although these reinsurance arrangements do not relieve us of our direct obligations to our insured, we believe that the risk of our reinsurers not paying balances due to us is low.

Marketing and Distribution

Our marketing activities are focused on promoting our strong brands, quality care, customer service efforts, size and quality of provider networks, flexibility of plan designs, financial strength and breadth of product offerings.  We distribute and market our products through several channels, including our salaried and commission-based internal sales force, direct mail, independent brokers and agents, telemarketing staff, traditional media (TV, Press, Billboards, Radio and Cinema) and Digital Media.  We recently added e-commerce as part of our distribution channels.

Branding and Marketing

Our branding and marketing efforts include “brand advertising”, which focuses on the Triple-S name and the BCBS brand for our managed care products and services, “acquisition marketing”, which focuses on attracting new customers, and “institutional advertising” which focuses on our overall corporate image. We believe that the strongest element of our brand identity is the Triple-S name.  We seek to leverage what we believe to be the strong name recognition and comfort level that many existing and potential customers associate with this brand.  Acquisition marketing consists of business-to-business marketing efforts to generate leads for brokers and our sales force as well as direct-to-consumer marketing efforts which are used to add new customers to our direct pay businesses.  Institutional advertising is used to promote key corporate interests and overall company image as well as communicating our company purpose.  We believe these efforts support and further our competitive brand advantage.  We will continue to utilize the Triple-S name and the BCBS brand for all managed care products and services in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

Sales and Marketing

We employ a wide variety of sales and marketing activities.  Such activities are closely regulated by CMS and the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Puerto Rico Office of the Insurance Commissioner (“Commissioner of Insurance”), Superintendencia General de Seguros de Costa Rica (“ Costa Rica Insurance Superintendence”) and other government of Puerto Rico agencies .  For example, our sales and marketing materials must be approved in advance by the applicable regulatory authorities, and they often impose other regulatory restrictions on our marketing activities.

Distribution

Managed Care Segment.    We rely principally on our internal sales force and a network of independent brokers and agents to market our products.  Individual policies are sold entirely through independent agents who exclusively sell our individual products, and Medicare Advantage and group products are sold through our 370 person internal sales force (promotors and sales representatives) as well through over 200 independent brokers and agents.  We believe that each of these marketing methods is optimally suited to address the specific needs of the customer base to which it is assigned.

 

Strong competition exists among managed care companies for brokers and agents with proven ability to secure new business and maintain existing accounts.  The basis of competition for the services of such brokers and agents are commission structure, support services, reputation and prior relationships, the ability to retain clients and the quality of products.  We pay commissions on a monthly basis based on premiums paid.  We believe that we have good relationships with our brokers and agents, and that our products, support services and commission structure are highly competitive in the marketplace.

Life Insurance Segment     In our life insurance segment, we offer our insurance products through our own network of both company-employed and independent agents.  The majority of our premiums (61.5% in 2017 and 64.0% in 2016) were placed through our home service distribution channel selling directly to customers in their homes.  TSV employs approximately 630 full-time active agents and managers and utilizes approximately 400 independent agents and brokers.  For individual policies, we advance first year commissions upon issuance and for group policies, we pay commissions on a monthly basis based on premiums received.

Property and Casualty Insurance Segment.   In our property and casualty insurance segment, business is primarily subscribed through approximately 15 general agencies, including our insurance agency, Triple-S Insurance Agency, Inc. (“TSIA”), where business is placed by independent insurance agents and brokers.  During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 TSIA placed approximately 69%, 73% and 73% of TSP’s total premium volume, respectively.  General agencies contracted by TSP remit premiums net of their respective commission.

 

 

Commercial Sector

The commercial accounts sector includes corporate accounts, federal government employees, individual accounts, local government employees, and Medicare Supplement.

Corporate Accounts.      Corporate accounts consist of small (2 to 50 employees) and large employers (over 50 employees).  Employer groups may choose various funding options ranging from fully-insured to self-funded financial arrangements or a combination of both.  While self-funded clients participate in our managed care networks, the clients bear the insurance risk, except to the extent they maintain stop loss coverage.  This sector also includes professional and trade associations.

Federal Government Employees.     For over 40 years, we have maintained our leadership in providing managed care services to federal government employees in Puerto Rico.  We provide our services to these employees under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program pursuant to a direct contract with OPM and through the Federal Employee Program of the BCBSA.  We are one of two companies in Puerto Rico that has such a contract with OPM.  Every year, OPM allows other insurance companies to compete for this business, provided such companies comply with the applicable requirements for service providers.  This contract is subject to termination in the event of a non-compliance that is not corrected to the satisfaction of OPM.

 

Individual Accounts.     We provide managed care services to individuals and their dependent family members who contract these services directly with us through our network of independent brokers.  We provide individual and family contracts.

Local Government Employees.     We provide full risk managed care services to the local government of Puerto Rico employees through a government-sponsored program.  Annually, the government qualifies the managed care companies that participate in this program and sets the coverage, including benefits, co-payments and amount to be contributed by the government.  Employees then select from one of the authorized companies and pays for the difference between the premium of the selected carrier and the amount contributed by the government.

Medicare Supplement.     We offer Medicare Supplement products, which provide supplemental coverage for many of the medical expenses that the Medicare Parts A and B programs do not cover, such as deductibles, coinsurance and specified losses that exceed the federal program’s maximum benefits.

Medicare Advantage Sector

Medicare is a federal program administered by CMS that provides a variety of hospital and medical insurance benefits to eligible persons aged 65 and over as well as to certain other qualified persons.  Medicare, with the approval of the Medicare Modernization Act, started promoting a managed care organizations (“MCO”) sponsored Medicare product that offers benefits similar to or better than the traditional Medicare product, but where the risk is assumed by the MCOs.  This program is called Medicare Advantage.  We have contracts with CMS to provide extended Medicare coverage to Medicare beneficiaries under our Dual and Non-Dual products.  Under these annual contracts, CMS pays us a set premium rate based on membership that is risk adjusted for health status.  Depending on the total benefits offered, for certain of our Medicare Advantage products the member will also be required to pay a premium.

Our Dual products target the sector of the population eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, or dual-eligible beneficiaries.  The government of Puerto Rico has implemented a plan to allow dual-eligibles enrolled in Medicaid to move to a Medicare Advantage plan under which the government, rather than the insured, will assume all of the premiums for additional benefits not included in the Medicare Advantage programs, such as deductibles and co-payments of prescription drug benefits.

Medicaid

The government of Puerto Rico has privatized the delivery of services to the medically indigent population in Puerto Rico, as defined by the government, by contracting with private managed care companies instead of providing health services directly to such population.  The government divided Puerto Rico into eight geographical areas.  Each of the eight geographical areas is awarded to a managed care company doing business in Puerto Rico through a competitive bid process.  We currently provide healthcare services in the Metro-North and West regions to approximately 384,000 members.  As of December 31, 2017, this program provided healthcare coverage to over 1.2 million people.

This program is based on the Medicaid program, a joint federal and state health insurance program for medically indigent residents of the state.  The Medicaid program is structured to provide states the flexibility to establish eligibility requirements, benefits provided, payment rates, and program administration rules, subject to general federal guidelines.

Our agreement with the government of Puerto Rico is subject to termination in the event of a non-compliance event that is not corrected or cured to the satisfaction of the government entity overseeing Medicaid, or in the event that the government determines that there is an insufficiency of funds to finance the program.  See “Item 1A – Risks Factors – Risks Related to our Business – We are dependent on a small number of government contracts to generate a significant amount of the revenues of our managed care business”.

 

Life Insurance

Our life insurance customers consist primarily of individuals, who hold approximately 607,400 policies.  We also insure approximately 1,560 groups.

 

Property and Casualty Insurance

Our property and casualty insurance segment targets small to medium size accounts with low to average exposures to catastrophic losses.  The auto physical damage and auto liability customer bases are primarily of commercial accounts.  Personal business are primarily generated with sales of our personal package product, ProPack, that includes coverage for residences, personal property, and automobile.  Also, professional liability coverage is offered with hospital and medical malpractice products.

Underwriting and Pricing

Managed Care

We strive to maintain our market leadership by trying to provide all of our managed care members with the best health care coverage at a reasonable cost.  We believe that disciplined underwriting and appropriate pricing are core strengths of our business and important competitive advantages.  We continually review our underwriting and pricing guidelines on a product-by-product and customer group-by-group basis to maintain competitive rates in terms of both price and scope of benefits.  Pricing is based on the overall risk level and the estimated administrative expenses attributable to each particular segment.

Our claims database enables us to establish rates based on each renewing group claims experience, which provides us with important insights about the risks in our service areas.  We tightly manage the overall rating process and have processes in place to ensure that underwriting decisions are made by properly qualified personnel.  In addition, we have developed and implemented a utilization review and fraud and abuse prevention program.

We have been able to maintain relatively high retention rates, which is the percentage of existing clients retained in the renewal process, in the corporate accounts sector of our managed care business.  For 2017 and 2016 our corporate accounts retention factor was 92% and 88%, respectively.

Our managed care rates are set prospectively, meaning that a fixed premium rate is determined at the beginning of each contract year and revised at renewal.  We renegotiate the premiums of different groups in the corporate accounts as their existing annual contracts become due.  We set rates for individual contracts based on the most recent semi-annual claims data.  We consider the actual claims trend of each group when determining the premium rates for the following contract year.  Rates in the Medicare sector and for federal and local government employees are generally set on an annual basis through negotiations with the U.S. Federal and Puerto Rico Governments, as applicable.

Life Insurance

Our individual life insurance business has been priced using mortality, morbidity, lapses and expense assumptions which approximate actual experience for each line of business.  We review pricing assumptions on a regular basis.  Individual insurance applications are reviewed by utilizing common underwriting standards in use in the United States, and only those applications that meet these commonly-used underwriting requirements are approved for policy issuance.  Our group life insurance business is written on a group-by-group basis.  We develop the pricing for our group life business based on mortality and morbidity experience and estimated expenses attributable to each particular line of business.

Property and Casualty Insurance

The property and casualty insurance sector has experienced a soft market in Puerto Rico, principally as a result of economic conditions and reinsurance capacity, which is now changing due to the losses generated by the hurricanes in the current year.  Notwithstanding these conditions, our property and casualty segment has maintained its leadership position in the property insurance sector by following prudent underwriting and pricing practices.

 

Our core business is comprised of small and medium-sized accounts.  The volume of business is subject to attentive risk assessment and strict adherence to underwriting guidelines, combined with maintenance of competitive rates on above-par risks designed to maintain a relatively high retention ratio.  Underwriting strategies and practices are closely monitored by senior management and constantly updated based on market trends, risk assessment results and loss experience.  Commercial risks in particular are fully reviewed by our underwriters.

Quality Initiatives and Medical Management

We utilize a broad range of focused traditional cost containment and advanced care management processes across various product lines.  We continue to enhance our management strategies, which seek to control claims costs while striving to fulfill the needs of highly informed and demanding managed care consumers.  One of these strategies is the reinforcement of population and case management programs, which empower consumers by educating them and engaging them in actively maintaining or improving their own health.  Early identification of patients and inter-program referrals are the focus of these programs, which allow us to provide integrated services to our customers based on their specific conditions.  The population management programs include programs that target asthma, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and a prenatal program that focuses on preventing prenatal complications and promoting adequate nutrition.  We developed a medication therapy management program aimed at plan members who are identified as having high drug utilization and unrelated diagnostics.  In addition, TSS, through a third party supplier, provides to our members a 24-hour telephone-based triage program and health information services.  TSS also provides utilization management services for our Medicare sector.  We intend to maximize utilization of population and case management programs among our insured populations.  Other strategies include innovative partnerships and business alliances with other entities to provide new products and services such as an employee assistance program and the promotion of evidence-based protocols and patient safety programs among our providers.  We also employ registered nurses and social workers to manage individual cases and coordinate healthcare services.  We have enhanced our hospital concurrent review program, the goal of which is to monitor the appropriateness of high admission rate diagnoses and unnecessary stays.  To expand the scope of the revision, we established a phone based review for low admissions hospitals, which freed resources to cover the biggest hospitals and allowed the onsite nurses to participate in the patient discharge planning, referral to programs, the quality of the services, including the occurrence of never events.  As part of the cost containment measures we have preauthorization services for certain procedures and the mandatory validation of member eligibility prior to accessing services.  In addition, we provide a variety of services and programs for the acute, chronic and complex populations.  These services and programs seek to enhance quality at physicians’ premises, thus reducing emergency care and hospitalizations.  We promote the use of a formulary for accessing medications, encouraging the use of generic drugs in the three-tier formulary, which offers three co-payment levels.

We have also established an exclusive pharmacy network with higher discounted rates than our broader network.  In addition, through arrangements with our pharmacy benefits manager, we are able to obtain discounts and rebates on certain medications based on formulary listing and market share.

We have designed a comprehensive Quality Improvement Program (“QIP”).  This program is designed with a strong emphasis on continuous improvement of clinical and service indicators, such as Health Employment Data Information Set (“HEDIS”) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (“CAHPS”) measures.  Our QIP also includes a Physician Incentive Program (“PIP”) and a Hospital Quality Incentive Program (“HQIP”), which are directed to support corporate quality initiatives, utilizing clinical and benchmark criteria developed by governmental agencies and nationally recognized professional organizations.  The PIP encourages the participation of members in chronic care improvement programs and the achievement of specific clinical outcomes.  The HQIP encourages participating hospitals to achieve the national benchmarks related to the five core measures established by CMS and the Joint Commission.

 

Provider Arrangements

Approximately 99% of member services are provided through one of our contracted provider networks and the remainder is provided by out-of-network providers.  Our relationships with managed care providers, physicians, hospitals, other facilities and ancillary managed care providers are guided by standards established by applicable regulatory authorities for network development, reimbursement and contract methodologies.

We contract with our managed care providers in different forms, including capitation-based reimbursement.  For certain ancillary services, such as behavioral health services and primary care services in certain of our products, we generally enter into capitation arrangements with entities that offer broad based services through their own contracts with providers.  We attempt to provide market-based reimbursement along industry standards.  We seek to ensure that providers in our networks are paid in a timely manner, and we provide means and procedures for claims adjustments and dispute resolution.  We also provide a dedicated service center for our providers.  We seek to maintain broad provider networks to ensure member choice while implementing effective management programs designed to improve the quality of care received by our members.

We promote the use of electronic claims billing by our providers.  Approximately 93% of claims are submitted electronically through our fully automated claims processing system, and our “first-pass rate”, or rate at which a claim is approved for payment when first processed by our system without human intervention, for provider claims has averaged 92% in 2017.

We believe that physicians and other providers primarily consider member volume, reimbursement rates, timeliness of reimbursement and administrative service capabilities along with the “non-hassle” factor, or reduction of non-value adding administrative tasks, when deciding whether to contract with a managed care plan.  As a result of our established position in the Puerto Rican market, the strength of the Triple-S name and our association with the BCBSA, we believe we have strong relationships with hospital and provider networks leading to a strong competitive position in terms of hospital count, number of providers and number of in-network specialists.

Hospitals.     We generally contract for hospital services to be paid on an all-inclusive per diem basis, which includes all services necessary during a hospital stay.  We also contract some hospital services to be paid on diagnosis-related groups which is an all-inclusive rate per admission.   Negotiated rates vary among hospitals based on the complexity of services provided.  We annually evaluate these rates and revise them, if appropriate.

Physicians.    Fee-for-service is our predominant reimbursement methodology for physicians in our PPO products and for services referred by the independent practice associations (“IPAs”) under capitation agreements.  Our physician rate schedules applicable to services provided by in-network physicians are pegged to a resource-based relative value system fee schedule and then adjusted for competitive rates in the market.  This structure is similar to reimbursement agreement methodologies developed and used by the Medicare program and other major payers.   Payments to physicians under the Medicare Advantage program are based on Medicare fees.  For certain of our Medicare products we contract with IPAs in the form of capitation-based reimbursement for certain risks .  We have a network of IPAs that provide managed care services to our members in exchange for a capitation fee.  The IPAs assume the costs of certain primary care services provided and referred by their PCPs, including procedures and in-patient services not related to risks assumed by us.

Services are provided to our members through our network providers with whom we contract directly.  Members seeking medical treatment outside of Puerto Rico are served by providers in these areas through the BlueCard program, which offers access to the provider networks of the other BCBS plans.

Subcontracting.     We subcontract our triage call center, certain utilization management, mental and substance abuse health services, and pharmacy benefits management services through contracts with third parties.

In addition, we contract with a number of other ancillary service providers, including laboratory service providers, home health agency providers and intermediate and long-term care providers, to provide access to a wide range of services.  These providers are normally paid on either a fee schedule or fixed per day or per case basis.

 

On August 29, 2017, we entered into a Master Services Agreement in which OptumInsight, Inc. will provide healthcare technology and operations services, including information technology, claims processing and application development, to TSS and its affiliates.

 

Competition

The insurance industry in Puerto Rico is highly competitive and is comprised of both local and national entities.  The approval of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, has opened the insurance market to new competition by allowing financial institutions such as banks to enter into the insurance business.  Several banks in Puerto Rico have established subsidiaries that operate as insurance agencies, brokers and reinsurers.

Managed Care

The managed care industry is highly competitive, both nationally and in Puerto Rico.  Competition continues to be intense due to aggressive marketing, business consolidations, a proliferation of new products and increased quality awareness and price sensitivity among customers.  Industry participants compete for customers based on the ability to provide a total value proposition which we believe includes quality of service and flexibility in benefit design, access to and quality of provider networks, brand recognition and reputation, price and financial stability.

Competitors in the managed care segment include national and local managed care plans.  At December 31, 2017, we had approximately 978,000 members enrolled in our managed care segment.  Our market share in terms of premiums written in Puerto Rico was estimated at approximately 27% for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017.

We believe that our competitive strengths, including our leading presence in Puerto Rico, our BCBS license, the size and quality of our provider network, the broad range of our product offerings, our strong complementary businesses and our experienced management team, position us well to satisfy these competitive requirements.

Life Insurance

We are one of the leading providers of life insurance products in Puerto Rico.  In 2016, we were the second largest life insurance company in Puerto Rico, as measured by direct premiums, with a market share of approximately 10.5%.  We are the only life insurance company that distributes our products through home service.  However, we face competition in each of our product lines.  Excluding annuities, we are the largest company in the life insurance and cancer lines of business, with market shares of approximately to 19.8% and 20.6% respectively.

Property & Casualty Insurance

The property and casualty insurance market in Puerto Rico is extremely competitive.  In addition, soft market conditions have prevailed in Puerto Rico for a long period of time.  In the local market, such conditions mostly affected commercial risks, precluding rate increases and even provoking lower premiums on both renewals and new business.  After the hurricanes causing losses in Puerto Rico during September 2017, the commercial markets are experiencing increases in pricing and modifications on policy conditions, which is the typical reaction in the period following a natural catastrophic event.   Property and casualty insurance companies tend to compete for the same accounts through price, policy terms and quality of services.  We compete by reasonably pricing our products and providing efficient services to producers, agents and clients.

In the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017, we were the fourth largest property and casualty insurance company in Puerto Rico, as measured by direct premiums, with a market share approximating 8%.

 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield License

We have license agreements with BCBSA that permit us the exclusive use of the BCBS name and marks for the sale, marketing and administration of managed care plans and related services in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.  We believe that the BCBS name and marks are valuable brands of our products and services in the marketplace.  The license agreements, which have a perpetual term (but are subject to termination under circumstances described below), contain certain requirements and restrictions regarding our operations and our use of the BCBS name and marks.

Upon the occurrence of any event causing the termination of our license agreements, we would cease to have the right to use the BCBS name and marks.  We also would no longer have access to the networks of providers of the different plans that are members of the Association nor the BlueCard Program.  We would expect to lose a significant portion of our membership if we lose these licenses.  Loss of these licenses could significantly harm our ability to compete in our markets and could require payment of a significant fee to the BCBSA.  Furthermore, if our licenses were terminated, the BCBSA would be free to issue a new license to use the BCBS name and marks to another entity, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.  See “Item 1A   Risk Factors–Risks Related to Our Business – The termination or modification of our license agreements to use the BCBS name and marks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Events which could result in termination of our license agreements include, but are not limited to:

•

failure to maintain our total adjusted capital at or above 375% of Health Risk-Based Capital (“HRBC”) Authorized Control Level (“ACL”) as defined by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) for the for Primary Licensee (TSM) and Larger BCBS Controlled Affiliate (TSS) and 100% HRBC ACL for the Smaller BCBS Controlled Affiliate (TSA);

•	failure to maintain liquidity of greater than one month of underwritten claims and administrative expenses, as defined by the BCBSA, for two consecutive quarters;

•	failure to satisfy state-mandated statutory net worth requirements;

•	impending financial insolvency; and

•	a change of control not otherwise approved by the BCBSA or a violation of the BCBSA voting and ownership limitations on our capital stock.

The BCBSA license agreements and membership standards specifically permit a licensee to operate as a for-profit, publicly-traded stock company, subject to certain governance and ownership requirements.

Pursuant to our license agreements with BCBSA, at least 80% of the revenue that we earn from health care plans and related services in Puerto Rico, and at least 66.7% of the revenue that we earn from (or at least 66.7% of the enrollment for) health care plans and related services both in the United States and in Puerto Rico together, must be sold, marketed, administered, or underwritten through use of the BCBS name and marks.  This may limit the extent to which we will be able to expand our health care operations, whether through acquisitions of existing managed care providers or otherwise, in areas where a holder of an exclusive right to the BCBS name and marks is already present.  Currently, the BCBS name and marks are licensed to other entities in all markets of the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.

As required by our BCBS license agreements, our articles of incorporation prohibit any institutional investor from owning 10% or more of our voting power, any person that is not an institutional investor from owning 5% or more of our voting power, and any person from beneficially owning shares of our common stock or other equity securities, or a combination thereof, representing a 20% or more ownership interest in us.  To the extent that a person, including an institutional investor, acquires shares in excess of these limits, our articles provide that we will have the power to take certain actions, including refusing to give effect to a transfer or instituting proceedings to enjoin or rescind a transfer, in order to avoid a violation of the ownership limitation in the articles.

 

Pursuant to the rules and license standards of the BCBSA, TSM guarantees TSS and Triple-S Blue, Inc. (“TSB”) contractual and financial obligations to their respective customers.  Also, TSS guarantees TSA’s contractual and financial obligations to their respective customers.  In addition, pursuant to the rules and license standards of the BCBSA, we have agreed to indemnify the BCBSA against any claims asserted against it resulting from our contractual and financial obligations.

Each license requires an annual fee to be paid to the BCBSA.  The fee is determined based on a per-contract charge from products using the BCBS name and marks.  The annual BCBSA fee for the year 2018 is $1,409,481.  During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, we paid fees to the BCBSA in the amount of $1,444,069 and $2,395,808, respectively.  The BCBSA is a national trade association of 36 independent Primary Licensees (Plans), including TSM, the primary function of which is to promote and preserve the integrity of the BCBS name and marks, as well as to provide certain centralized services to entities licensed by the BCBSA (the “Member Plans”).  Each Member Plan is an independent legal organization and is not responsible for obligations of other BCBSA Member Plans.  With a few limited exceptions, we have no right to market products and services using the BCBS name and marks outside our BCBS licensed territory.

BlueCard.      Under the rules and license standards of the BCBSA, other Member Plans must make available their provider networks to members of the BlueCard Program in a manner and scope as consistent as possible to what such member would be entitled to in his or her home region.  Specifically, a plan (located where a member receives the service (each, a “Host Plan”) must pass on discounts to BlueCard members from other Member Plans that are at least as great as the discounts that the providers give to the Host Plan’s local members.  The BCBSA requires us to pay fees to any Host Plan whose providers submit claims for health care services rendered to our members who receive care in their service area.  Similarly, we are paid fees for submitting claims and providing other services to members of other Member Plans who receive care in our service area.

Trademarks

We consider our trademarks Triple-S and SSS to be very important and material to all segments in which we are engaged.  All of our trademarks, which we consider important, have been duly registered with the Department of State of Puerto Rico and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  It is our policy to register all our important and material trademarks in order to protect our rights under applicable corporate and intellectual property laws.  In addition, we have the exclusive right to use the BCBS name and marks in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, and Anguilla.  See ‘‘—Blue Cross and Blue Shield License’’ .

Regulation

Our business operations are subject to comprehensive and detailed regulation in all the jurisdictions we conduct business.  Regulatory agencies include the Commissioner of Insurance of  Puerto Rico (the “Commissioner of Insurance”), the Health Department of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration (“ASES” by its Spanish acronym) , which administers Medicaid, including the Medicare dual-eligible beneficiaries program, the Division of Banking and Insurance of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica, the Insurance Division of the Financial Service Commission of British Virgin Islands and the Financial Services Commission of Anguilla.  Federal regulatory agencies that oversee our operations include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”)—directly and through the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”), the Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”)—, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”), and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”).  These government agencies have the right to:

•	grant, suspend and revoke licenses to transact business;

•	regulate many aspects of the products and services we offer, including the review and approval of health insurance rates in the individual and small group markets;

•	assess fines, penalties and/or sanctions;

•	monitor our solvency and the adequacy of our financial reserves; and

•	regulate our investment activities based on quality, diversification and other quantitative criteria, within the parameters of a list of permitted investments set forth in the insurance laws and regulations.

 

Our operations and accounts are subject to examination and audits at regular intervals by a number of these agencies.  In addition, the U.S federal and local governments continue to consider and enact many legislative and regulatory proposals that have impacted, or could materially impact, various aspects of the healthcare and insurance industries.  Some of the more significant current issues that may affect our business include:

•	initiatives to provide greater access to coverage for uninsured and under-insured populations without adequate funding to health plans or to be funded through taxes or other negative financial levies on health plans;

•	other efforts or specific legislative changes to the Medicare or Medicaid program, including changes in the bidding process or other means that materially reduce premiums;

•	local government regulatory changes;

•	increased government enforcement, or changes in interpretation or application of fraud and abuse laws; and

•	regulation that increase the operational burden on health plans or laws that increase a health plan’s exposure to liabilities, including efforts to expand the tort liability of health care plans.

 

The federal government and the government of Puerto Rico, including the Commissioner of Insurance, have adopted laws and regulations that govern our business activities in various ways.  These laws and regulations may restrict how we conduct our business and may result in additional burdens and costs to us.  Areas of governmental regulation include:

 

 

These laws and regulations are subject to amendments and changing interpretations in each jurisdiction.  Failure to comply with existing or future laws and regulations could materially and adversely affect our operations, financial condition and prospects.

 

Puerto Rico Insurance Laws

Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to the regulations and supervision of the Commissioner of Insurance.  The regulations and supervision of the Commissioner of Insurance consist primarily in the approval of certain policy forms, solvency standards, the nature of and limitations on investments, deposits of securities for the benefit of policyholders, methods of accounting, periodic examinations and the form and content of the financial reports, among others.  In general, such regulations are for the protection of policyholders rather than security holders.

Puerto Rico insurance laws prohibit any person from offering to purchase or sell voting stock of an insurance company with capital contributed by stockholders (a stock insurer) that constitutes 10% or more of the total issued and outstanding stock of such company or of the total issued and outstanding stock of a company that controls an insurance company, without the prior approval of the Commissioner of Insurance.  The proposed purchaser or seller must disclose any changes proposed to be made to the administration of the insurance company and provide the Commissioner of Insurance with any information reasonably requested.  The Commissioner of Insurance must make a determination within 30 days.  Such determination will be based on the evaluation of the transaction’s impact on the public interest, taking into account the experience, moral character and financial stability of the proposed purchaser; and whether the change of control could jeopardize the interests of insured, claimants or the Company’s other stockholders.

Puerto Rico insurance laws also require that stock insurers obtain the Commissioner of Insurance’s approval prior to any merger or consolidation.  The Commissioner of Insurance cannot approve any such transaction unless it determines that such transaction is fair, equitable, consistent with law, and that no reasonable objection exists.  The reinsurance of all or substantially all of the insurance of an insurance company by another insurance company is deemed to be a merger or consolidation.

Puerto Rico insurance laws further prohibit insurance companies and insurance holding companies, among other entities, from soliciting or receiving funds in exchange for any new issuance of its securities, other than through a stock dividend, unless the Commissioner of Insurance has granted a solicitation permit in respect of such transaction.  The Commissioner of Insurance will issue the permit unless it finds that the funds proposed to be secured are excessive for the purpose intended, the proposed securities and their distribution would be inequitable, or the issuance of the securities would jeopardize the interests of policyholders or security-holders.

In addition, Puerto Rico insurance laws limit insurance companies’ ability to reinsure risk.  Insurance companies can only accept reinsurance in respect of the types of insurance which they are authorized to transact directly.  Also, except for life and disability insurance, insurance companies cannot accept any reinsurance in respect of any risk resident, located, or to be performed in Puerto Rico, which was insured as direct insurance by an insurance company not then authorized to transact such insurance in Puerto Rico.  Insurance companies cannot reinsure 75% or more of their direct risk with respect to any type of insurance without first obtaining the approval of the Commissioner of Insurance.

Privacy of Financial and Health Information

Puerto Rico law requires that companies which manage individual financial, insurance and health information maintain the confidentiality of such information.  The Commissioner of Insurance has promulgated regulations relating to the privacy of such information.  As a result, our managed care subsidiaries must periodically inform our clients of our privacy policies, and in the case of our property and casualty and life insurance subsidiaries, allow our clients to opt-out if they do not want their financial information to be shared.  Also, Puerto Rico law requires that managed care providers provide patients with access to their health information within a specified time and that they not charge more than a predetermined amount for such access.  The law imposes various sanctions on managed care providers that fail to comply with these provisions.

Managed Care Provider Services

Participating managed care providers of the dual-eligible sector of the population, administered by ASES, are required to provide specific services to their subscribers.  Such services include access to a provider network that guarantees emergency and specialty services.  In addition, the Patient’s Solicitor Office (the “Solicitor”) is authorized to review and supervise the operations of entities contracted by the government of Puerto Rico to provide services to the dual-eligible sector of the population.  The Solicitor may investigate and adjudicate claims filed by Medicaid beneficiaries against the various service providers contracted by the government of Puerto Rico.  See “Business – Customers-Medicare Supplement and Medicare Advantage Sector” sections included in this Item for more information.

 

Capital and Reserve Requirements

Local insurers and health organizations are required by the Insurance Code to submit to the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Insurance Risk Based Capital (“RBC”) reports following the NAIC RBC Model Act, and accordingly are subject to certain regulatory actions if their capital levels do not meet minimum requirements.  Our minimum RBC requirement is currently 200% for the health maintenance organization and 300% for all TSS, TSV, TSB and TSP.

In addition, TSS, TSA, and TSB are subject to the capital and surplus licensure requirements of the BCBSA.  The capital and surplus requirements of the BCBSA are also based on the RBC Model Act and are intended to assess capital adequacy taking into account the risk characteristics of an insurer’s investments and products.  The RBC Model Act sets forth the formula for calculating the risk-based capital requirements, which are designed to take into account various risks, including insurance risks, interest rate risks and other relevant risks, with respect to an individual insurance company’s business.

The RBC Model Act requires increasing degrees of regulatory oversight and intervention as an insurance company’s risk-based capital declines.  The level of regulatory oversight ranges from requiring the insurance company to inform and obtain approval from the domiciliary insurance commissioner of a comprehensive financial plan for increasing its risk-based capital to mandatory regulatory intervention requiring an insurance company to be placed under regulatory control, in rehabilitation or liquidation proceeding.  The RBC Model Act provides for four different levels of regulatory attention depending on the ratio of the company’s total adjusted capital (defined as the total of its statutory capital, surplus, assets valuation reserve and dividend liability) to its risk-based capital.  At the “company action level”, occurring when a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 200% but greater than or equal to 150% of its risk-based capital, a company must submit a comprehensive plan to the regulatory authority which discusses proposed corrective actions to improve its capital position.  When a company’s adjusted capital is between 200% and 300% and it has a combined ratio greater than 150%, a “company action level” is triggered only if the Puerto Rico Commissioner of Insurance has implemented the health trend test.  As of December 31, 2017, the Commissioner of Insurance has not enacted the health trend test in its regulations.  The ‘‘regulatory action level’’ is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 150% but greater than or equal to 100% of its risk-based capital.  At the regulatory action level, the regulatory authority will perform a special examination of the company and issue an order specifying corrective actions that must be followed.  The ‘‘authorized control level’’ is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 100% but greater than or equal to 70% of its risk-based capital, at which level the regulatory authority may take any action it deems necessary, including placing the company under regulatory control.  The ‘‘mandatory control level’’ is triggered if a company’s total adjusted capital is less than 70% of its risk-based capital, at which level the regulatory authority must place the company under its control.

As of December 31, 2017, our insurance subsidiaries met and exceeded the minimum capital requirements established by the Commissioner of Insurance and the BCBSA, as applicable.

In addition to its catastrophic reinsurance coverage, TSP is required by local regulatory authorities to establish and maintain a reserve supported by a trust fund (the “Trust”) to protect policyholders against their dual exposure to hurricanes and earthquakes.  The funds in the Trust are solely to be used to pay catastrophic losses whenever qualifying catastrophic losses exceed 5% of catastrophe premiums or when authorized by the Commissioner of Insurance.  Contributions to the Trust, and accordingly additions to the reserve, are determined by a rate, imposed by the Commissioner of Insurance on the catastrophe premiums written in that year. As a result of the hurricanes affecting Puerto Rico in September 2017, TSP expects to withdraw $10.0 million from the Trust representing its net retention loss for the aforementioned event.

At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the reserve for catastrophes is $46.6 million and $44.7 million, respectively.  The supporting trust fund has assets of $48.4 million and $47.1 million as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.  Assets consist primarily of investment in securities available for sale, securities held for maturity, accrued investment income, cash and cash equivalents.  The income generated by investment securities deposited in the Trust becomes part of the Trust fund balance and are therefore considered an addition to the reserve.  For additional details see Note 16, Catastrophe Loss Reserve and Trust Fund, of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data , of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Dividend Restrictions

We are subject to the provisions of the General Corporation Law of Puerto Rico (“PRGCL”), which contains certain restrictions on the declaration and payment of dividends by corporations organized pursuant to the laws of Puerto Rico.  These provisions provide that Puerto Rico corporations may only declare dividends charged to their surplus or, in the absence of such surplus, net profits of the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year.  The PRGCL also contains provisions regarding the declaration and payment of dividends and directors’ liability for illegal payments.

Our ability to pay dividends is dependent on cash dividends from our subsidiaries.  Our insurance subsidiaries are subject to regulatory surplus requirements and additional regulatory requirements, which may restrict their ability to declare and pay dividends or distributions to us.  In addition, our secured term loan restricts our ability to pay dividends if a default thereunder has occurred and is continuing.  Please refer to “Item 7.   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources – Restrictions on Certain Payments by the Corporation’s Subsidiaries”.

Guaranty Fund Assessments

We are required by Puerto Rico law and by the BCBSA guidelines to participate in certain guarantee associations.  See “Item 7.   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Other Contingencies—Guarantee Associations’’ for additional information.

Federal Regulation

Our business is subject to extensive federal law and regulation.  New laws, regulations or guidance or changes to existing laws, regulations or guidance or their enforcement, may materially impact our business financial condition and results of operations.

Medicare Generally

Medicare is the federal health insurance program created in 1965 for all people aged 65 and older (regardless of income or medical history), qualifying disabled persons, and persons suffering from end-stage renal disease.  Medicare is funded by the federal government and administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), with the day-to-day operations of the program (e.g., provider enrollment, claims payment) handled by private contractors under contract with CMS.  There are approximately 55 million Medicare beneficiaries.

Medicare is divided into 4 distinct parts:

•

Part A covers, among other things, inpatient hospital stays, skilled nursing facility stays, home health visits (also covered under Part B), and hospice care.

•

Part B covers physician visits, outpatient services, laboratory services, durable medical equipment, certain preventive services, and home health visits.  Enrollment in Part B is voluntary and subject to an annual deductible.

•

Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, allows beneficiaries to enroll in private health plans and receive Medicare-covered benefits.  Currently, about 17 million Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in the United States in a Medicare Advantage plan.  Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (Pub. L No. 111-148), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152), on March 30, 2010 (referred to herein as “ACA”), payments to Medicare Advantage plans are generally being reduced over time, and bonus payments are available to certain plans based on quality ratings.  Medicare Advantage plans are required to maintain a medical loss ratio (“MLR”) of at least 85%, meaning, very basically, that if Medicare Advantage plans do not spend at least 85% of their revenue on patient care costs, may face various sanctions, including refunds, prohibition on enrolling new members, and contract termination. The Part C premium varies by plan.

 

•

Part D is the voluntary, subsidized outpatient prescription drug benefit created under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (the “MMA”).  Part D includes subsidies for beneficiaries with low incomes that do not apply to Puerto Rico.  Part D is offered through private plans that contract with Medicare, including stand-alone prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans.  Part D plans are also subject to MLR requirements and their premium varies by plan.

 

There also exist Medicare supplement plans, commonly known as “Medigap”, to fill the gaps in traditional fee-for-service Medicare Part A and B coverage.  These Medigap policies are standardized by CMS, but funded and administered by private organizations.

Since the 1980’s, as an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program, Medicare has also offered Medicare managed care benefits provided through contracted private health plans, currently known as Medicare Advantage plans.  Prior to 1997, CMS reimbursed health plans participating in the Medicare program primarily on the basis of the demographic data of the plans’ members.  Beginning in 1997, CMS gradually phased in a risk adjustment payment methodology that based its monthly premium payments to plans on various clinical and demographic factors.  This methodology uses two risk adjustment models: a Hierarchical Condition Category based model and an ESRD model, each applying to the corresponding population.  Beginning in 2003, Congress introduced a Medicare managed care approach, which itself has subsequently undergone several changes, and beginning in 2006, Congress introduced the Medicare Part D program, which offered a voluntary outpatient prescription drug benefit to fee-for-service as well as Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.  An Rx Hierarchical Condition Category Model is used in the determination of the Part D premium, and a Low Income Subsidy (LIS) is applied to Part D premiums for members that qualify.

Among other things, the ACA mandated several changes, implemented by CMS, to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs, including strengthening CMS’ ability to remove poor performers from the Medicare Advantage and Part D programs beginning in 2015.  Beginning with Medicare contract year 2015, CMS has the authority to terminate its contract with any Medicare Advantage or Part D plan for substantial contract non-compliance, or refuse to renew such plan, if the plan fails to achieve an overall Star Rating of 3.0 stars (out of 5.0) for any consecutive three (3) year period.  Although CMS has issued annual Star Ratings for Part D plans since 2007 and for Medicare Advantage plans since 2008, CMS uses Star Ratings issued for Medicare contract years 2013 and beyond in implementing this provision. In April 2015, CMS announced that it would for the first time exercise its authority to terminate low performing Medicare Advantage and Part D plans beginning in 2016. CMS issues Star Ratings on a prospective basis, typically in the fall preceding the contract year.  CMS has the authority to use the lower Star Ratings as a means to invoke its existing authority under Section 1857(c)(2) of the Social Security Act to terminate a contract when CMS determines that the Medicare Advantage or Part D plan has failed to substantially carry out the contract or is carrying out the contract in a manner that is inconsistent with the efficient or effective administration of the Medicare Advantage or Part D program.

In addition, under the ACA, Medicare Advantage plan payment rates were subject to transitionally phased-in reductions intended to bring Medicare Advantage rates more in line with Medicare fee-for-service rates. The transition began in 2012 and was completed in 2017.

 

Payments to Medicare Advantage Participating Plans

Since 2006, Medicare Advantage has used a bidding system by which plans submit bids based on costs per enrollee for Part A and Part B covered services.  Medicare Advantage also pays plans for providing prescription drug benefits under Part D.   Bids are based on estimated costs per enrollee for the Medicare-covered services.  The bids are then analyzed against a benchmark established by federal statute, and which vary by county or region.  A Medicare Advantage plan’s actual payment rate is based on a complex statutory formula that takes into account a number of factors, including the relationship between the plan’s bid and the applicable benchmark. When a bid is higher than the benchmark, enrollees generally pay the difference (through an additional premium) between the benchmark and the bid, in addition to any other Medicare premiums.  If the bid is lower than the benchmark, the plan and Medicare generally share the difference, and the plan must use its share (known as a “rebate”) to provide additional benefits to enrollees.  For plans obtaining up to 3.0 STARS, the rebate share to the plan is 50%.  When the plan reaches 3.5 or 4.0 STARS, that rebate share rises to 65%, and when the plan reaches 4.5 or 5.0 STARS it rises to 70%.

 

Plans reaching 4.0 STARS or higher, also receive a 5% quality bonus payment (QBP), which could be doubled for certain qualifying counties.  The resulting benchmark plus QBP amount can be reduced to a cap determined for each county, so the effective bonus payment for such qualifying counties could be between 5% and 10%.  Rebates and QBPs only apply to Part C premium payments.

STARS Ratings for plans are calculated based on the results achieved by the plan on a contract in tens of measures (47 in the 2019 draft call letter) spanning four categories: Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures, Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) and Health Outcomes Survey (HOS) measures, Administrative measures and Part D measures.  CMS assigns from one to five stars for each numeric measure score by applying one of two methods: relative distribution with significance testing (CAHPS) or clustering (all other measures).  Case-mix adjustments are applied to the survey results as part of the scoring.  CMS has recognized that socio-economic factors create significant variations in results for some metrics.  CMS’ interim response to address the within-contract disparity in performance associated with a contract’s percentages of beneficiaries with low income subsidy and dual eligible (LIS/DE) and disability status revealed in our comprehensive research conducted over multiple years culminated in the creation of the Categorical Adjustment Index (CAI).  Each measure is also assigned a relative weight used in the calculation of the Part C, Part D and overall STAR Rating.

Medicaid Generally

Medicaid is a public insurance program intended for low-income individuals and families.  Medicaid, as of November 2017, provides coverage to over 74 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, and individuals with disabilities. To participate in Medicaid, states must cover certain groups but have the flexibility to cover other population groups.  States may apply to CMS for waivers to provide coverage to populations beyond what is normally covered under the program.  States are able to establish eligibility criteria within federal minimum standards. States are allowed to set Medicaid provider payment rates, and may reimburse providers through fee-for-service or managed care.  They also have the flexibility to determine the type, amount, duration, and scope of services of their respective Medicaid programs, so long as within federal guidelines, although states are required to cover certain mandatory benefits.  In Puerto Rico, the Medicaid program is administered locally by ASES.

Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government.  States receive a percentage of their Medicaid program expenditures from the federal government, through a formula known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (“FMAP”). The FMAP varies by state based on factors such as per capita income.  The FMAP for Puerto Rico is 55%. FMAPs are adjusted based on a 3 year cycle.  Generally, during economic recessions such as the one that began in 2008, state revenues fall while Medicaid enrollment and spending rise.  To help alleviate the shortfall, the federal government temporarily increased its share of Medicaid costs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  However, that temporary fix ended in 2012, and while many states have enacted cost containment initiatives to help control costs, states continue to wrestle with falling revenue while Medicaid enrollment and spending increase.

The ACA expands Medicaid to an eligibility floor of 138% of the federal poverty level (“FPL”) beginning in 2014.  A 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding health care reform limited the federal government’s ability to enforce Medicaid expansion—meaning that the issue of Medicaid expansion is effectively left to each individual state.  Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories were not included in the Medicaid expansion, instead Congress approved one billion in federal funding for Puerto Rico and the other U.S. territories to establish local affordable insurance exchanges or expand their Medicaid programs, at their option.  Puerto Rico elected to use the approximately $925 million made available by Congress to Puerto Rico for expanding its Medicaid program.   The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-31) provided Puerto Rico with an additional $295.9 million.  Although these funds are available until December 2019, the government has estimated that, given the current burn rate of the approved funding, funds would be fully utilized in fiscal year 2018.  However, in February 2018, as part of the emergency supplemental legislation passed by Congress, Puerto Rico’s Medicaid spending cliff has been addressed for at least the next two years, because of the approval of $4.8 billion in Medicaid Funding.  This action will bring financial stability to Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program, and funding conditions related to compliance with program management standards will further promote stability and predictability.

 

Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries

A “dual-eligible” beneficiary is a person who is eligible for both Medicare, because of age or other qualifying status, and Medicaid, because of economic status.  Dual-eligibles are a high cost population that account for a disproportionate share of government health care expenditures.  As of August 2017, there are approximately 11 million dual-eligibles, receiving both Medicare and Medicaid benefits nationwide. Given the disproportionately high cost of treating dual-eligibles, there has been a spate of initiatives designed to address the issue.  The government of Puerto Rico established a model that wraps-around benefits included in Medicaid that were not included in Medicare Advantage benefits.  Dual-eligible beneficiaries in Puerto Rico have the option to participate in this model called Platino.  Health plans that offer Platino products receive premiums from CMS and the government of Puerto Rico.  In this plan the government, rather than the insured, will assume all of the premiums for additional benefits not included in traditional Medicare programs, such as prescription drug benefits.  By managing utilization and implementing disease management programs, many Medicare Advantage plans can profitably care for dual-eligible members.  The MMA established subsidies and reduced or eliminated deductibles for certain low-income beneficiaries, including dual-eligible individuals.  Pursuant to the MMA, dual-eligible individuals receive their drug coverage from the Medicare program rather than the Medicaid program.  Companies offering Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans with bids at or below the regional weighted average bid resulting from the annual bidding process received a pro-rata allocation and auto-enrollment of the dual-eligible beneficiaries within the applicable region.

Additionally, ACA created the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office to better integrate Medicare and Medicaid benefits and improve coordination between federal and state governments, which has, among other things implemented initiatives such as demonstration projects and limited coordinated care contracts, intended to improve quality and lower costs with respect to dual eligible beneficiaries. Under authority of the ACA, a number of states (not including Puerto Rico) have been awarded contracts to support the design of demonstration projects that aim to improve the coordination of care for people with Medicare and Medicaid coverage.

Special Needs Plans

Special Needs Plans are intended to address Medicare beneficiaries with special care needs, particularly those with chronic conditions.  In addition, the ACA created Fully Integrated Dual Eligible (FIDE) special needs plans, designed to promote the full integration and coordination of Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dual eligible beneficiaries by a single managed care organization, Essentially, Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (“SNPs”) are a type of Medicare Advantage Plan for people with certain chronic diseases and conditions or who have specialized needs (such as people who have both Medicare and Medicaid or people who live in certain institutions).  SNPs limit membership to people with specific diseases or characteristics, and tailor their benefits, provider choices, and drug formularies (list of covered drugs) to best meet the specific needs of the groups they serve.

Sales and Marketing.     Our sales and marketing activities are closely regulated by CMS, ASES, the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and the Solicitor General.  CMS regulations in this area preempt local law.

Fraud and Abuse Laws.     Insurance providers in Puerto Rico are subject to local and federal laws that prohibit fraud and abuse, and are required to have anti-fraud units in place.  In addition, entities, such as TSS and TSA, that receive federal funds from government health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, are subject to a wide variety of federal fraud and abuse laws and enforcement activities.  Such laws include, among others, the federal anti-kickback laws and the False Claims Act.

 

Anti-kickback Laws .       Insurance providers in Puerto Rico are subject to local and federal anti-kickback laws.  These anti-kickback laws prohibit the payment, solicitation, offering or receipt of any form of remuneration (including kickbacks, bribes, and rebates) in exchange for business, and under federal law, the referral of federal healthcare program patients or any item or service that is reimbursed by any federal health care program.  In addition, the federal regulations include certain safe harbors that describe relationships that have been determined by CMS not to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.  Relationships that do not fall within one of the enumerated safe harbors are not a per se violation of the federal law, but will be subject to enhanced scrutiny by regulatory authorities.  The ACA amended the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and other healthcare criminal fraud statutes, so that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and other healthcare criminal fraud statutes, or the specific intent to violate them, to have committed a violation. The ACA also provided that a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute is grounds for the government or a whistleblower to assert that a claim for payment of items or services resulting from such violation constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal False Claims Act. Failure to comply with the anti-kickback provisions, and other healthcare criminal fraud statuses, may result in civil damages and penalties, criminal sanctions, and administrative remedies, such as exclusion from the applicable federal health care program, and additional reporting requirements and oversight if subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance.

 

Federal False Claims Act.    Federal regulations also strictly prohibit the presentation of false claims or the submission of false information to the federal government.  Under the federal False Claims Act, any person or entity that has knowingly presented or caused to be presented a false or fraudulent request for payment from the federal government or who has made a false statement or used a false record in the submission of a claim may be subject to treble damages and penalties of up to $21,916 per claim.  The ACA codified federal government’s prior position that claims presented in relationships that violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute may also be considered to be violations of the federal False Claims Act.  Furthermore, the federal False Claims Act permits private citizen “whistleblowers” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government for violations of the False Claims Act and to share in the settlement or judgment that may result from the lawsuit.  Financial recoveries from civil health care matters brought under the False Claims Act are significant.

HIPAA, HITECH, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Health care entities, such as TSS and TSA, are subject to laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), and their respective implementing regulations, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, that require the protection of certain health and other information.  HIPAA authorized HHS to issue standards for administrative simplification, as well as privacy and security of medical records and other individually identifiable health information.  The regulations pursuant to the HIPAA Administrative Simplification provisions and HITECH impose a number of additional obligations on issuers of health insurance coverage and health benefit plan sponsors.  These requirements apply to self-funded group plans, health insurers and HMOs, health care clearinghouses and health care providers who transmit health information electronically (collectively, “covered entities”) and their business associates that access, maintain, create, and/or receive individually identifiable health information (collectively “business associates”).  These regulations also establish significant criminal penalties and civil sanctions for non-compliance.

HHS also sets standards relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information.  In general, these regulations restrict how covered entities and business associates may use and disclose medical records and other individually identifiable health information in any form, whether communicated electronically, on paper or orally, subject only to limited exceptions.  In addition, the regulations provide patients’ rights to understand and control how their health information is used.  HHS has also published security regulations designed to protect member health information from unauthorized use or disclosure and require notification to members, the Secretary of HHS, and in certain cases the media, in the event of a breach of unsecured individually identifiable health information.

In 2015 we entered into two agreements with federal and Puerto Rican regulators to resolve investigations in connection with privacy incidents at our Managed Care segment. The agreements include the payment of a combined amount of $5 million and the adoption of a three year corrective action plan. See, “Item 3. Legal Proceedings–Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Health Information” for more information.

 

HHS has released rules mandating the use of standard formats in electronic health care transactions (for example, health care claims submission and payment, plan eligibility, precertification, claims status, plan enrollment and disenrollment, payment and remittance advice, plan premium payments and coordination of benefits). HHS also has published rules mandating the use of standardized code sets and unique identifiers for employers and providers.  Our managed care subsidiary believes that it is in material compliance with these requirements.  In addition,  the federal government required healthcare organizations, including health insurers, upgrade to updated and expanded standardized code sets used for describing health conditions by converting from the ICD-9 diagnosis and procedure code set to the ICD-10 diagnosis and procedure code by October 1, 2015.  Our conversion from the ICD-9 code set to the ICD-10 code set, which required a substantial investment, was successfully completed.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act applies to financial institutions in the United States, including those domiciled in Puerto Rico, such as TSV and TSP.  The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act generally placed restrictions on the disclosure of non-public information to non-affiliated third parties, and required financial institutions including insurers, to provide customers with notice regarding how their non-public personal information is used, including an opportunity to “opt out” of certain disclosures.  The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act also gives banks and other financial institutions the ability to affiliate with insurance companies, which has led to new competitors in the insurance and health benefits fields in Puerto Rico.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974

The services we provide to certain employee welfare benefit plans maintained by private sector employers are subject to regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), a complex set of laws and regulations subject to interpretation and enforcement by the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, and federal courts.  ERISA regulates certain aspects of the relationships between us, private sector employers who maintain employee welfare benefit plans subject to ERISA, and the participants and beneficiaries in such plans.  Some of our administrative services and other activities may also be subject to regulation under ERISA and its regulations.  In addition, certain states require licensure or registration of companies providing third-party claims administration services for benefit plans.  We provide a variety of products and services to employee welfare benefit plans that are covered by ERISA and its regulations.  Plans subject to ERISA can also be subject to state laws and the question of whether ERISA preempts a state law has been, and will continue to be, interpreted by federal and state courts.

Dodd-Frank Act

In 2010, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall-Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) which provides for a number of reforms and regulations in the corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure, investments, tax and enforcement areas that affect our subsidiaries.    Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act creates a Federal Insurance Office (“FIO”) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury with powers that include information-gathering and subpoena authority. In 2013, as part of its initial task to study the state of the insurance industry, the FIO issued a report recommending that Congress consider direct federal involvement should the states fail to accomplish necessary modernization reforms in the near term. The FIO continues to support the current state-based regulatory regime, but may consider federal regulation should the states fail to take steps to greater uniformity.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act gives the Federal Reserve supervisory authority over a number of financial services companies, including insurance companies, if they are designated by the Financial Stability Oversight Council as “systemically important.” In such a case, the Federal Reserve’s supervisory authority could include the ability to impose heightened financial regulation upon that insurance company and could impact its capital, liquidity and leverage requirements as well as its business and investment conduct. We have not been designed as “systemically important” by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

 

Although the FIO authorities do not extend to health insurance they extend to other parts of the business, primarily life and property and casualty insurance.  The FIO, however, does not have supervisory or regulatory authority over the insurance business.

Legislative and Regulatory Initiatives

Puerto Rico Initiatives

The Commissioner of Insurance adopted Rule No. 83, titled ‘‘Standards and Procedures to Regulate the Insurance Holding Company Systems and Criteria for Evaluating Changes in Control’’.  Rule No. 83 requires insurers and health services organizations authorized to do business in Puerto Rico and which are members of an insurance holding company system to register and file with the Commissioner of Insurance certain reports describing capital structure, ownership, financial condition, enterprise risks and general business operations.  In addition, Rule No. 83 establishes the criteria to be used to approve or refuse to approve any transaction that may constitute a change in control of a domestic insurer or health services organization.  Rule No. 83 also requires prior notice and approval of certain intercompany transactions, as well as payments of extraordinary dividends or distributions.

Federal Initiatives

On March 23, 2010, the federal health reform legislation, known as the Affordable Care Act, was enacted.  Most of the provisions of ACA with more significant effects on the health insurance marketplace went into effect on or before January 1, 2014, including a requirement that insurers guarantee the issuance of coverage to all individuals regardless of health status, strict rules on how health insurance is rated, and the assessment of new taxes and fees, including annual Health Insurance Providers Fee (“HIP Fee”), on health insurers that write certain types of health insurance on U.S. risks. The annual HIP Fee is allocated to health insurers based on the ratio of the amount of an insurer's net premium revenues written during the preceding calendar year to an adjusted amount of health insurance for all U.S. health risk for those certain lines of business written during the preceding calendar year.  The total HIP fee levied on the health insurance industry was $11.3 billion for 2016 and 2015, with increasing annual amounts thereafter, growing to $14.3 billion by 2018. The HIP Fee has been waived for 2017.  After 2018, the HIP Fee increases according to an index based on net premium growth. The assessment is being levied on certain health insurers that provide insurance in the assessment year, and is allocated to health insurers based on each health insurer's share of net premiums for all U.S health insurers in the year preceding the assessment.  We incurred $44.2 million, $34.6 million, and $27.7 million for the HIP fee in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Over the past few months, Congress has passed a number of new laws that will have a significant effect on health insurers. In December 2017, Congress passed tax reform legislation that repealed the individual mandate requiring the purchase of health insurance coverage. Additionally, Congress passed a continuing resolution in January 2018 that will suspend the Health Insurance Tax for 2019. Finally, in February 2018, Congress passed emergency supplemental legislation that includes significant financial relief for Puerto Rico's Medicaid program.

On July 16, 2014, HHS notified the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico that the guarantee issue, community rating, single risk pool, rate review, MLR, and essential health benefits provisions under the ACA do not apply to U.S. territories, however they continue to apply to Puerto Rico by virtue of an amendment to the Health Insurance Code of Puerto Rico passed on July 22, 2013 to enact similar provisions in Puerto Rico. ACA affects all aspects of the health care delivery and reimbursement system in the United States, including health insurers, managed care organizations, healthcare providers, employers, and U.S. states and territories.

We do not anticipate significant debate regarding the repeal and replacement of the ACA in Washington this year.  However, various federal agencies, including, but not limited to, HHS, DOL, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have issued and continue to issue Executive Orders and regulations related to the stabilization of the individual insurance market as well as their intentions to repeal the ACA in whole or in part.  Additionally, Congress continues to consider possible action related to insurance market stabilization, with action possible this spring.

 

As a result of the complexity of ACA, its impacts on health care in the United States and the uncertainty of its future, we cannot currently estimate the ultimate impact of ACA on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations.  We will continue to assess ACA’s impact on us as additional regulations and guidance are issued.

As we think about the future of the ACA, or what may replace it, some of the more significant ACA issues that currently affect our managed care business, or may in the future, include:

•

Provisions requiring greater access to coverage for certain uninsured and under-insured populations and the elimination of certain underwriting practices without adequate funding to health plans or with negative financial levies on health plans such as restrictions in the ability to charge additional premium for additional risk. These include, among others, (i) extending dependent coverage for unmarried individuals until age 26 under their parents’ health coverage, (ii) limiting a health plan’s ability to rescind coverage and restricting the plan’s ability to establish annual and lifetime financial caps, (iii) eliminating the use of gender as a ratings factor, and (iv) limiting a health plan’s ability to deny or limit coverage on grounds of a person’s pre-existing medical condition;

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Provisions restricting medical loss ratios and requiring premium refunds for non-compliance;

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Provisions requiring health plans to report to their members and HHS certain quality performance measures and their wellness promotion activities;

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Provisions that reduce premium payments to Medicare Advantage health plans and that tie such premium to the local Medicare fee for service costs.  The adjustment began in 2012 and is being phased in over 5 to 7 years;

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Provisions that tie Medicare Advantage premiums to achievement of certain quality performance measures;

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Other efforts or specific legislative changes to the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including changes in the bidding process, authority of CMS to deny bids, or other means of materially reducing premiums such as through further adjustments to the risk adjustment methodology;

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Increased federal funding to the Medicaid program;

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Funding provided to the government of Puerto Rico to enable it to fund the expansion of its Medicaid program, rather than establish a health insurance exchange;

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Provisions that impose annual fees on health insurers;

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Increased government funding to enforcement agencies and/or changes in interpretation or application of fraud and abuse laws;

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Expanded scope of authority and/or funding to audit Medicare Advantage health plans and recoup premiums or other funds by the government or its representatives; and the increase in persons eligible for coverage under the Medicaid program in Puerto Rico, which may result in some persons currently insured by us in our commercial programs becoming eligible for, and thus moving to, the Medicaid program.

While all aspects of the ACA are expected to undergo significant changes throughout the repeal and replace process, some of the specific provisions we will be tracking include the following:  The ACA mandates significant changes to the rules regarding private health insurance to facilitate competition for market efficiency, promote prevention and wellness, increase pooling of risk, and prohibit discrimination for pre-existing conditions and/or health statues.  For example, HHS has issued rules specifically related to health insurance market reforms, essential benefits, and standards for wellness programs by employers who sponsor group health plans.  The market reform rules concerns the sale, pricing, and renewability of health insurance.  These rules apply to the individual and small group health insurance markets (whether or not in the health insurance exchanges).  The rules do not generally apply to grandfathered health plans.  The essential benefits rule establishes the standards for covered benefits under private health insurance coverage.  Under the rule, states have the ability to select a benchmark plan from ten popular private health plans.  Popularity is based on enrollment figures for the plans.  Should a state not select a plan, the default becomes the largest small group health plan.  A covered benefit under the benchmark plan will be considered an essential health benefit.  The Government of Puerto Rico selected one of our Medicare Advantage products, supplemented with additional benefits currently provided under the federal employee health plan, as the benchmark plan.  Under the ACA, health plans that are not grandfathered in the individual and small group market are required to cover essential health benefits.  While essential benefits are not specifically defined, the ACA outlines 10 categories of benefits that are required to be covered by plans, including: a) emergency services; b) ambulatory patient services; c) hospitalization; and d) preventive and wellness services and chronic disease manage ment.  The wellness rule amends an earlier regulation regarding the design and implementation of wellness programs offered by employers in group health plans.  See Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors―The health care reform law and the implementation of the law c ould have a material effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations” for more information.

 

Budget Control Act

The Budget Control Act of 2011 was enacted to reduce the deficit and avoid default on the national debt.  When a joint committee of Congress established to develop debt reduction legislation failed to cut at least $1.5 trillion over the coming 10 years, an automatic process of across-the-board cuts (“sequestration”) split equally between defense and non-defense programs was triggered.  Under the sequestration, automatic spending cuts became effective beginning April 1, 2013, and these cuts have been extended through at least 2024 unless additional Congressional action is taken.  This resulted in cuts of 2% to Medicare funding.  Medicaid programs are not subject to automatic spending cuts.

Employees

As of December 31, 2017, we had 3,420 full-time employees and 193 temporary employees.  TSS has a collective bargaining agreement with the “Unión General de Trabajadores”, which represents approximately 28.3% of two of our managed care subsidiaries’ approximately 1,992 regular employees.  The collective bargaining agreement expires on November 30, 2019.  The Corporation considers its relations with employees to be good.

Available Information

We are an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) and are required, pursuant to Item 101 of Regulation S-K, to provide certain information regarding our website and the availability of certain documents filed with or furnished to the SEC.  Our internet website is www.triplesmanagement.com.  We make available free of charge, or through our internet website (http://triplesmanagement.com), our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with or furnish it to the SEC.  We also include on our internet website our Corporate Governance Guidelines, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charter of each standing committee of our Board of Directors.  In addition, we intend to disclose on our Internet website any amendments to, or waivers from, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that are required to be publicly disclosed pursuant to rules of the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”).  The SEC maintains an internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.  The website addresses listed above are provided for the information of the reader and are not intended to be an active link.  We will provide free of charge copies of our filings to any shareholder that requests them at the following address: Triple-S Management Corporation; Office of the Secretary; PO Box 363628; San Juan, P.R. 00936-3628.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents we incorporated by reference in this report contains forward-looking statements, as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are statements that include information about possible or assumed future sales, results of operations, developments, regulatory approvals or other circumstances and may be found in the Items of this Annual Report on Form 10-K entitled “Item 1.   Business”, “Item 1A.   Risk Factors”, “Item 7   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Statements that use the terms ‘‘believe’’, ‘‘expect’’, ‘‘plan’’, ‘‘intend’’, ‘‘estimate’’, ‘‘anticipate’’, ‘‘project’’, ‘‘may’’, ‘‘will’’, ‘‘shall’’, ‘‘should’’ and similar expressions, whether in the positive or negative, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

 

All forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K reflect our current views about future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties.  Consequently, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including all the risks discussed in “Item 1A.   Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In addition, we operate in a highly competitive, constantly changing environment that is significantly influenced by very large organizations that have resulted from business combinations, aggressive marketing and pricing practices of competitors and regulatory oversight.  The following list is a summary of factors, the results of which, either individually or in combination, if markedly different from our planning assumptions, could cause our business results of operations, financial condition, cash flow, or prospect, to be materially adversely affected from those expressed in any forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

•	trends in health care costs and utilization rates;

•	ability to secure sufficient premium rate increases;

•	competitor pricing below market trends of increasing costs;

•	re-estimates of our policy and contract liabilities;

•	changes in government regulation of managed care, life insurance or property and casualty insurance;

•	significant acquisitions or divestitures by major competitors;

•	introduction and use of new prescription drugs and technologies;

•	a downgrade in our financial strength ratings;

•	litigation or legislation targeted at managed care, life insurance or property and casualty insurance companies;

•	ability to contract with providers and government agencies consistent with past practice;

•	ability to successfully implement our disease management and utilization management programs;

•	volatility in the securities markets and investment losses and defaults; and

•	general economic downturns, major disasters and epidemics.

The foregoing list should not be construed to be exhaustive.  We believe the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are reasonable; however, there is no assurance that the actions, events or results anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do, what impact they will have on our results of operations or financial condition.  In view of these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based on our current expectations at the time the statements are made.  Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and, other than as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update or revise any of them in light of new information or future events.