Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has announced that it has settled its differences with Universal Health Care Insurance Company (UHCIC) through a consent order.  UHCIC had previously commenced numerous court actions to fend off receivership proceedings.  UHCIC now admits to having significantly underestimated its 2007 nationwide premiums by 14 times its original projection, which left it in hazardous financial condition. UHCIC has agreed to be placed under administrative supervision for eight months, submit monthly financial reports to the OIR, pay an administrative fine of $100,000, and pay $250,000 for the OIR’s legal fees and costs. The company also agreed to voluntarily dismiss all pending appeals, lawsuits and other actions regarding matters addressed in its consent order.

Therefore, UHCIC’s attempt to remove the receivership proceedings commenced in Florida state court to federal court, on the basis of preemption under the Medicare Modernization Act, as reported in a previous blog entry, has been mooted.