State's major health insurers report mostly positive results
The state's major health insurers reported largely positive results during the third quarter.
Tufts Health Plan, struggling to stabilize membership, reported strong net income of $41 million, including income from insurance operations of $33.1 million on revenue of $466 million.
In the same period last year, the insurer reported net income of $22.1 million on $479 million in revenue. Membership has hovered just above 600,000 for most of the year.
Harvard Pilgrim reported operating income of $21.4 million and net income including investment income of $28.5 million on revenue of $640 million, slightly better than its third quarter in 2005 when it posted net income of $24.3 million on revenues of $559.5 million. Its membership is 975,000.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurer with about 3 million members, saw its operating income decline by about one-third to $66.4 million for the third quarter, as premiums increased from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. The health plan has said it planned to narrow its profit margin this year. But net income for Blue Cross, including its HMO operation, increased to $140.1 million, up from $103.2 million, due to a $51 million settlement with the Internal Revenue Service.
The health plans also released the 2005 salaries of their top-earning employees.
William Van Faasen , chairman and chief executive of Blue Cross, earned the most -- a salary and bonus of nearly $3.2 million.
Van Faasen gave up the chief executive role in July 2005 and was replaced by Cleve L. Killingsworth , who earned salary and bonus of $1.4 million in 2005, according to filings made public yesterday.
Former Tufts chief executive Nancy Leaming , who left in June 2005, earned salary, bonus, and severance of $1.8 million in 2005. Her successor, James Roosevelt Jr. , earned salary, bonus and expenses of $785,013 in 2005.
Charles D. Baker , chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim, earned salary and benefits of nearly $1.1 million in 2005.
Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com. 
