Sierra Health, HPN downgraded

A.M. Best Co. said it downgraded Health Plan of Nevada Inc. and Sierra Health & Life Insurance Co., both of which are subsidiaries of Sierra Health Services Inc. of Las Vegas.

Health Plan of Nevada is the largest health maintenance organization in Nevada with some 207,000 members.

Both ratings were lowered from Excellent to Very Good. A.M. Best said it changed the ratings because of rising debt levels at Sierra since its acquisition of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Texas.

A.M. Best said it expected Sierra to reduce its debt-to-capital ratio from its already aggressive 44 percent. Instead, the debt level has grown to 48 percent.

"This ratio is above the acceptable level for an excellent-rated company," said A.M. Best, noting Sierra is moving to strengthen the Texas operation by cutting expenses and selling some assets.

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