Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario says he is "still optimistic" about the possibility that he will get the long term care insurance subsidiaries of Penn Treaty American Corp. out of rehabilitation.
Ario said during an interview that he also would consider placing Penn Treaty policies with the state-sponsored entity that his department created in November 2008 to take over older LTC insurance policies from a unit of Conseco Inc., Carmel, Ind.
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court last week gave Ario permission to take over Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company and American Network Insurance Company, the principal subsidiaries of Penn Treaty, Allentown, Pa.
The units faced serious financial problems after a reinsurer pulled out of a deal to back their LTC insurance policies, Penn Treaty says.
Penn Treaty executives say they have been unable to find replacement financing or to find a buyer for the units or the policies.
A few weeks earlier, Ario approved a move by Conseco to turn an LTC insurance unit, Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company, into an independent trust.
The trust, Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, will relieve Conseco for financial responsibility for 140,000 older LTC policies, according to Pennsylvania officials.
