We owned or leased numerous medical centers and administrative offices at December 31, 2019. The medical centers we operate are primarily located in Florida and Texas, including full-service, multi-specialty medical centers staffed by primary care providers and medical specialists. Of these medical centers, approximately 185 of these facilities are leased or subleased to our contracted providers to operate.
Includes a reduction in premiums revenue of $583 million ($367 million after tax, or $2.43 per diluted common share) associated with the write-off of commercial risk corridor receivables. Also includes benefits expense of $505 million ($318 million after tax, or $2.11 per diluted common share) for reserve strengthening associated with our non-strategic closed block of long-term care insurance policies, which were sold in 2018.
For discussion of 2017 items and year-over-year comparisons between 2018 and 2017 that are not included in this 2019 Form 10-K, refer to "Item 7. - Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 21, 2019.
In the second quarter of 2018, we acquired Family Physicians Group, or FPG, for cash consideration of approximately $185 million, net of cash received. FPG is one of the largest at-risk providers serving Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid HMO patients in Greater Orlando, Florida with a footprint that includes clinics located in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. The acquisition of FPG advances our strategy of helping physicians and clinicians evolve from treating health episodically to managing health holistically.
On February 5, 2020, after the stock market closed, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued Part II of the 2021 Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Medicare Advantage Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (the “Advance Notice”). CMS has invited public comment on the Advance Notice before publishing final rates on April 6, 2020 (the “Final Notice”).
Also on February 5, 2020, CMS issued a proposed rule (which we refer to as the “2021 Proposed Rule”) related to the administration of the MA and Part D programs, including, among other things, the Agency’s implementation of recent legislation removing the limitation on MA eligibility for end-stage-renal-disease, or ESRD, Medicare-eligible beneficiaries beginning in 2021, allowing for Medicare Advantage plans to offer additional supplemental benefits including telehealth, and addressing opioid recovery and treatment. The 2021 Proposed Rule also recognizes the potential opportunity to create new options for beneficiaries, including ESRD beneficiaries, and their access to care through greater flexibility around current network adequacy requirements. CMS has invited public comments to the 2021 Proposed Rule on or before April 6, 2020.
The Advance Notice and the 2021 Proposed Rule are subject to the required notice and comment period, and we cannot predict when or to what extent CMS will adopt the proposals in the Advance Notice or the 2021 Proposed Rule. We will be drawing upon our program expertise to provide CMS formal commentary on the impact of both the Advance Notice and the 2021 Proposed Rule and the related impact upon Medicare beneficiaries’ quality of care and service to our members through the MA and Part D programs.
Net income was $2.7 billion for 2019 compared to $1.7 billion in 2018 and earnings per diluted common share increased $7.94 from $12.16 earnings per diluted common share in 2018 to $20.10 earnings per diluted common share in 2019. This comparison was primarily impacted by higher segment earnings in our Retail and Healthcare Services segments, partially offset by lower Group and Specialty segment earnings. These changes were further favorably impacted by the put/call valuation adjustments associated with our investment in Kindred at Home and by a lower number of shares used to compute dilutive earnings per share, primarily reflecting share repurchases. In addition, year-over-year comparison to 2019 was impacted by the loss on the sale of KMG of $786 million recognized in 2018.
Contributing to our Retail segment revenue growth was our individual and group Medicare Advantage membership, which increased 550,700 members, or 15.5%, from 3,561,800 members at December 31, 2018 to 4,112,500 members at December 31, 2019.
Our operating cash flow of $5.3 billion for 2019 improved from $2.2 billion for 2018, reflecting the significant impact of increasing premiums and enrollment, as premiums generally are collected in advance of claim payments by a period of up to several months. The year-over-year comparison was further impacted by the timing of other working capital changes, higher earnings in 2019 versus 2018, and the negative impact on 2018 cash flows resulting from the funding of reinsurance transactions in connection with the sale of KMG.
In July 2019, the Board of Directors approved a $3.0 billion share repurchase authorization with an expiration date of June 30, 2022. We subsequently entered into an agreement with a third-party financial institution on July 31, 2019, to effect a $1.0 billion ASR program under the authorization. Under the terms of this program, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2019, we repurchased approximately 3,376,200 shares at an average price, after a discount, of $296.19. Aside from the completion of the ASR program, we have not completed any open market stock repurchases. As of February 19, 2020, we had a remaining repurchase authorization of $2.0 billion.
In 2019 we initiated an involuntary workforce optimization program that will allow us to promote operational excellence, accelerate our strategy, fund critical initiatives and advance our growth objectives. As a result we recorded estimated charges of $47 million, or $0.26 per diluted common share, on the corporate level, included
We intend for the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to assist in the understanding of our financial statements and related changes in certain key items in those financial statements from year to year, including the primary factors that accounted for those changes. Transactions between reportable segments primarily consist of sales of services rendered by our Healthcare Services segment, primarily pharmacy, provider, and clinical care services, to our Retail and Group and Specialty segment customers and are described in Note 18 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in this 2019 Form 10-K.
Certain financial data on a consolidated basis and for our segments was as follows for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:
Net income for 2019 was $2.7 billion, or $20.10 per diluted common share, compared to $1.7 billion, or $12.16 per diluted common share, in 2018. This increase primarily was impacted by our Medicare Advantage business and Healthcare Services segment, as well as by previously implemented productivity initiatives that led to significant operating cost efficiencies in 2019. These impacts were partially offset by strategic investments in our integrated care delivery model, the impact of higher compensation accruals for the Annual Incentive Plan, or AIP, offered to employees across all levels of the company, lower Group and Specialty segment earnings, increased spending associated with the 2020 Medicare Annual Election Period, or AEP, and the impact of workforce optimization. These changes were further favorably impacted by the put/call valuation adjustments associated with our investment in Kindred at Home and by a lower number of shares used to compute dilutive earnings per share, primarily reflecting share repurchases. In addition, 2019 was impacted by the loss on the sale of KMG recognized in 2018.
Consolidated services revenue decreased $18 million, or 1.2%, from $1.5 billion for 2018 to $1.4 billion for 2019, primarily due to a decrease in services revenue in the Group and Specialty segment, partially offset by an increase in the Healthcare Services segment as detailed in the segment results discussion that follows.
Consolidated benefits expense was $53.9 billion for 2019, an increase of $8.0 billion, or 17.4%, from 2018 reflecting an increase in the Retail and Group and Specialty segments benefits expense as discussed in the detailed segment results discussion that follows. As more fully described herein under the section entitled "Benefits Expense Recognition", actuarial standards require the use of assumptions based on moderately adverse experience, which generally results in favorable reserve development, or reserves that are considered redundant. We experienced favorable medical claims reserve development related to prior fiscal years of $336 million in 2019 and $503 million in 2018.
Retail segment earnings were $2.2 billion in 2019, an increase of $502 million, or 29.0%, compared to $1.7 billion in 2018 primarily reflecting a lower operating cost ratio, partially offset by the higher benefit ratio as more fully described below. As expected, the higher-than-anticipated individual Medicare Advantage membership growth during the previous AEP had a muted impact on the segment's earnings in 2019. While new Medicare Advantage members increase revenue, on average, they have a break even impact on segment earnings in the first year as they were not previously engaged in clinical programs or appropriately documented under the CMS risk adjustment model, and accordingly, carry a higher benefit ratio.
Group Medicare Advantage membership increased 27,500 members, or 5.5%, from 497,800 members as of December 31, 2018 to 525,300 members as of December 31, 2019, primarily due to net membership additions associated with the 2019 AEP for Medicare beneficiaries. For the full year 2020, we anticipate a net membership increase in our Group Medicare Advantage offerings of approximately 90,000 members.
The Retail segment’s benefits expense for 2019 included the beneficial effect of $386 million in favorable prior-year medical claims reserve development versus $398 million in 2018. This favorable prior-year medical claims reserve development decreased the Retail segment benefit ratio by approximately 70 basis points in 2019 versus approximately 80 basis points in 2018.
Group and Specialty segment earnings were $28 million in 2019, a decrease of $333 million, or 92.2%, from $361 million in 2018 primarily due to a higher benefit ratio, along with lower military services business earnings. Earnings comparisons related to the military services business were unfavorably impacted by the receipt of certain contractual incentives and adjustments in 2018 related to the previous TRICARE contract which did not recur in 2019. These decreases were partially offset by the improvement in the operating cost ratio as more fully described below.
Group ASO commercial medical membership increased 47,300 members, or 9.8%, from 481,900 members as of December 31, 2018 to 529,200 members as of December 31, 2019 reflecting more small group accounts selecting level-funded ASO products in 2019, partially offset by the loss of certain large group accounts as a
result of continued discipline in pricing of services for self-funded accounts amid a highly competitive environment.
Military services membership increased 55,700 members, or 0.9%, from 5,928,600 members as of December 31, 2018 to 5,984,300 members as of December 31, 2019. Membership includes military service members, retirees, and their families to whom we provide healthcare services under the current T2017 TRICARE East Region contract. The current contract, which covers thirty-two states, became effective on January 1, 2018.
The Group and Specialty segment benefit ratio increased 630 basis points from 79.7% in 2018 to 86.0% in 2019 primarily due to the impact of the continued migration of fully-insured group members to level-funded ASO products in 2019 resulting in a membership mix transformation, the suspension of the health insurance industry fee in 2019 which was contemplated in the pricing and benefit design of our products, and unfavorable prior-year medical claims reserve development driven by provider settlements. The benefit ratio was further negatively impacted by adjustments to dental network contracted rates resulting from dental network recontracting and expansion to position the business for the future.
The Group and Specialty segment’s benefits expense included the unfavorable effect of $50 million in prior-year medical claims reserve development in 2019 versus the beneficial effect of $46 million in favorable prior-year medical claims reserve development in 2018. This unfavorable prior-year medical claims reserve development increased the Group and Specialty segment benefit ratio by approximately 70 basis points in 2019 while the favorable prior-year medical claims reserve development decreased the Group and Specialty segment benefit ratio by approximately 70 basis points in 2018.
Humana Pharmacy Solutions® script volumes for the Retail and Group and Specialty segment membership increased to approximately 456 million in 2019, up 3.6% versus scripts of approximately 440 million in 2018. The increase primarily reflects growth associated with higher Medicare Advantage and state-based contracts membership, partially offset by the decline in stand-alone PDP membership.
The Healthcare Services segment operating cost ratio of 96.4% for 2019 was relatively unchanged from 96.3% for 2018.
The change in operating cash flows over the three year period primarily results from the corresponding change in the timing of working capital items, earnings, and enrollment activity as discussed below. The increase in operating cash flows in 2019 reflect the significant impacts of increasing premiums and enrollment, as premiums generally are collected in advance of claim payments by a period of up to several months, higher earnings, the timing of other working capital items, and the impact of an approximately $245 million payment related to reinsuring certain voluntary benefit and financial protection products to a third party in connection with the sale of KMG in 2018.
The decrease in operating cash flows in 2018 primarily was due to the receipt of the merger termination fee in 2017, net of related expenses and taxes paid, funding the reinsurance of certain voluntary benefit and financial protection products to a third party in connection with the sale of KMG in 2018 and the timing of working capital items.
IBNR represents an estimate of benefits payable for claims incurred but not reported (IBNR) at the balance sheet date and includes unprocessed claim inventories. The level of IBNR is primarily impacted by membership levels, medical claim trends and the receipt cycle time, which represents the length of time between when a claim is initially incurred and when the claim form is received and processed (i.e. a shorter time span results in a lower IBNR). IBNR includes unprocessed claims inventories.
The increase in benefits payable in 2019 and 2018 was primarily due to an increase in IBNR, mainly as a result of Medicare Advantage membership growth. In addition, 2019 was impacted by an increase in the amounts owed to providers under capitated and risk sharing arrangements.
The decrease in commercial and other receivables in 2018 as compared to 2017, was due primarily to a decrease in our receivable associated with the commercial risk adjustment provision of the Health Care Reform Law. This decrease corresponds with our exit from the Individual Commercial business.
Many provisions of the Health Care Reform Law became effective in 2014, including the non-deductible health insurance industry fee. The annual health insurance industry fee was suspended for the calendar year 2017, but resumed in calendar year 2018.The annual health insurance industry fee was again suspended in 2019, but will resume for calendar year 2020, not be deductible for income tax purposes, and significantly increase our effective tax rate. Under current law, the health industry fee will be permanently repealed beginning in calendar year 2021. We paid the federal government annual health insurance industry fees of $1.04 billion in 2018.
Our ongoing capital expenditures primarily relate to our information technology initiatives, support of services in our provider services operations including medical and administrative facility improvements necessary for activities such as the provision of care to members, claims processing, billing and collections, wellness solutions, care coordination, regulatory compliance and customer service. Total capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions, were $736 million in 2019, $612 million in 2018, and $524 million in 2017.
In 2018, we completed the sale of our wholly-owned subsidiary KMG to CGIC. Upon closing, we funded the transaction with approximately $190 million of parent company cash contributed into KMG, subject to customary adjustments, in addition to the transfer of approximately $160 million of statutory capital with the sale. Total cash and cash equivalents, including parent company funding, disposed at the time of sale, was $805 million. See Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
We reinvested a portion of our operating cash flows in investment securities, primarily investment-grade fixed income securities, totaling $542 million, $221 million, and $2.4 billion, during 2019, 2018 and 2017 respectively.
Claims payments associated with cost sharing provisions of the Health Care Reform Law for which we do not assume risk were $25 million in 2018. Claims payments associated with cost sharing provisions of the Health Care Reform Law for which we do not assume risk were higher than reimbursements from HHS by $44 million in 2017.
In August 2019, we issued $500 million of 3.125% senior notes due August 15, 2029 and $500 million of 3.950% senior notes due August 15, 2049. Our net proceeds, reduced for the underwriters' discount and commission and offering expenses paid were $987 million. We used the net proceeds from this offering, together with available cash, to repay the $650 million outstanding amount due under our term note in August 2019, and the $400 million aggregate principal amount of our 2.625% senior notes due on maturity at October 1, 2019. In December 2017, we issued $400 million of 2.50% senior notes due December 15, 2020 and $400 million of 2.90% senior notes due December 15, 2022. Our net proceeds, reduced for the underwriters' discount and commission and offering expenses paid as of December 31, 2017, were $794 million. We used the net proceeds, together with available cash, to fund the redemption of our $300 million aggregate principal amount of 6.30% senior notes maturing in August 2018 and our $500 million aggregate principal amount of 7.20% senior notes maturing in June 2018 at 100% of the principal amount plus applicable premium for early redemption and accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date, for cash totaling approximately $829 million.
The remainder of the cash used in or provided by financing activities in 2019, 2018, and 2017 primarily resulted from proceeds from stock option exercises and the change in book overdraft.
For a detailed discussion of our debt, including our senior notes, credit agreement and commercial paper program, please refer to Note 13 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
For a detailed discussion of our acquisitions and divestitures, please refer to Notes 3 and 4 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Adverse changes in our credit rating may increase the rate of interest we pay and may impact the amount of credit available to us in the future. Our investment-grade credit rating at December 31, 2019 was BBB+ according to Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, or S&P, and Baa3 according to Moody’s Investors Services, Inc., or Moody’s. A downgrade by S&P to BB+ or by Moody’s to Ba1 triggers an interest rate increase of 25 basis points with respect to $250 million of our senior notes. Successive one notch downgrades increase the interest rate an additional 25 basis points, or annual interest expense by $1 million, up to a maximum 100 basis points, or annual interest expense by $3 million.
In addition, we operate as a holding company in a highly regulated industry. Humana Inc., our parent company, is dependent upon dividends and administrative expense reimbursements from our subsidiaries, most of which are subject to regulatory restrictions. We continue to maintain significant levels of aggregate excess statutory capital and surplus in our state-regulated operating subsidiaries. Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments at the parent company increased to $1.4 billion at December 31, 2019 from $578 million at December 31, 2018. This increase primarily reflects insurance subsidiaries dividends, non-insurance subsidiaries' profits and net proceeds from debt issuance, partially offset by common stock repurchases, insurance subsidiaries' capital contributions, repayment of debt and capital expenditures. Our use of operating cash derived from our non-insurance subsidiaries, such as our Healthcare Services segment, is generally not restricted by Departments of Insurance (or comparable state regulatory agencies). Our regulated insurance subsidiaries paid dividends to the parent of $1.8 billion in 2019, $2.3 billion in 2018, and $1.4 billion in 2017. Refer to our parent company financial statements and accompanying notes in Schedule I - Parent Company Financial Information. The amount of ordinary dividends that may be paid to our parent company in 2020 is approximately $1 billion, in the aggregate. Actual dividends paid may vary due to consideration of excess statutory capital and surplus and expected future surplus requirements related to, for example, premium volume and product mix.
The completion and claims per member per month trend factors are the most significant factors impacting the IBNR estimate. The portion of IBNR estimated using completion factors for claims incurred prior to the most recent two months is generally less variable than the portion of IBNR estimated using trend factors. The following table illustrates the sensitivity of these factors assuming moderately adverse experience and the estimated potential impact on our operating results caused by reasonably likely changes in these factors based on December 31, 2019 data:
Reflects estimated potential changes in benefits payable at December 31, 2019 caused by changes in completion factors for incurred months prior to the most recent two months.
Reflects estimated potential changes in benefits payable at December 31, 2019 caused by changes in annualized claims trend used for the estimation of per member per month incurred claims for the most recent two months.
The favorable medical claims reserve development for 2019, 2018, and 2017 primarily reflects the consistent application of trend and completion factors estimated using an assumption of moderately adverse conditions. Our favorable development for each of the years presented above is discussed further in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. - Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
We receive monthly premiums from the federal government and various states according to government specified payment rates and various contractual terms. We bill and collect premium from employer groups and members in our Medicare and other individual products monthly. Changes in premium revenues resulting from the periodic changes in risk-adjustment scores derived from medical diagnoses for our membership are estimated by projecting the ultimate annual premium and recognized ratably during the year with adjustments each period to reflect changes in the ultimate premium.
Investment securities totaled $11.4 billion, or 39% of total assets at December 31, 2019, and $10.4 billion, or 41% of total assets at December 31, 2018. The investment portfolio was primarily comprised of debt securities, detailed below, at December 31, 2019 and entirely at December 31, 2018. The fair value of debt securities were as follows at December 31, 2019 and 2018:
Approximately 96% of our debt securities were investment-grade quality, with a weighted average credit rating of AA by S&P at December 31, 2019. Most of the debt securities that were below investment-grade were rated BB, the higher end of the below investment-grade rating scale. Tax-exempt municipal securities were diversified among general obligation bonds of states and local municipalities in the United States as well as special revenue bonds issued by municipalities to finance specific public works projects such as utilities, water and sewer, transportation, or education. Our general obligation bonds are diversified across the United States with no individual state exceeding 1% of our total debt securities. Our investment policy limits investments in a single issuer and requires diversification among various asset types.
On February 16, 2017, under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, or Merger Agreement, with Aetna Inc., and certain wholly owned subsidiaries of Aetna Inc., which we collectively refer to as Aetna, we received a breakup fee of $1 billion from Aetna, which is included in our consolidated statement of income in the line captioned "Merger termination fee and related costs, net."
The annual premium-based fee on health insurers is not deductible for tax purposes. We estimate a liability for the health insurance industry fee and record it in full once qualifying insurance coverage is provided in the applicable calendar year in which the fee is payable with a corresponding deferred cost that is amortized ratably to expense over the same calendar year. We record the liability for the health insurance industry fee in trade accounts payable and accrued expenses and record the deferred cost in other current assets in our consolidated financial statements. We pay the health insurance industry fee in September or October of each year. The Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted on December 18, 2015, included a one year suspension in 2017 of the health insurance industry fee. In 2018, we paid the federal government $1.04 billion for the annual health insurance industry fee attributed to calendar year 2018. The Continuing Resolution bill, H.R. 195, enacted on January 22, 2018, included a one year suspension in 2019 of the health insurance industry fee, but the fee will resume for calendar year 2020. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, enacted on December 20, 2019, permanently repealed the health insurance industry fee beginning in calendar year 2021.
Under the other-than-temporary impairment model for debt securities held, we recognize an impairment loss in income in an amount equal to the full difference between the amortized cost basis and the fair value when we have the intent to sell the debt security or it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the debt security before recovery of our amortized cost basis. However, if we do not intend to sell the debt security, we evaluate the expected cash flows to be received as compared to amortized cost and determine if a credit loss has occurred. In the event of a credit loss,
Reinsurance and low-income cost subsidies represent funding from CMS in connection with the Medicare Part D program for which we assume no risk. Reinsurance subsidies represent funding from CMS for its portion of prescription drug costs which exceed the member’s out-of-pocket threshold, or the catastrophic coverage level. Low-income cost subsidies represent funding from CMS for all or a portion of the deductible, the coinsurance and co-payment amounts above the out-of-pocket threshold for low-income beneficiaries. Monthly prospective payments from CMS for reinsurance and low-income cost subsidies are based on assumptions submitted with our annual bid. A reconciliation and related settlement of CMS’s prospective subsidies against actual prescription drug costs we paid is made after the end of the year. The Health Care Reform Law mandates consumer discounts of 50% on brand name prescription drugs for Part D plan participants in the coverage gap. These discounts are funded by CMS and pharmaceutical manufacturers while we administer the application of these funds. We account for these subsidies and discounts as a deposit in our consolidated balance sheets and as a financing activity under receipts (withdrawals) from contract deposits in our consolidated statements of cash flows. For 2019, subsidy and discount payments of $11.8 billion exceeded reimbursements of $11.2 billion by $0.6 billion. For 2018, subsidy and discount payments of $10.3 billion exceeded reimbursements of $9.6 billion by $0.7 billion. For 2017, subsidy and discount reimbursements of $12.1 billion exceeded payments of $10.2 billion by $1.9 billion. We do not recognize premiums revenue or benefit expenses for these subsidies or discounts. Receipt and payment activity is accumulated at the contract level and recorded in our consolidated balance sheets in other current assets or trade accounts payable and accrued expenses depending on the contract balance at the end of the reporting period.
Settlement of the reinsurance and low-income cost subsidies as well as the risk corridor payment is based on a reconciliation made approximately 9 months after the close of each calendar year. Settlement with CMS for brand name prescription drug discounts is based on a reconciliation made approximately 14 to 18 months after the close of each calendar year. We continue to revise our estimates with respect to the risk corridor provisions based on subsequent period pharmacy claims data. See Note 7 for detail regarding amounts recorded to our consolidated balance sheets related to the risk corridor settlement and subsidies from CMS with respect to the Medicare Part D program.
For the year ended December 31, 2019, revenue recognized from performance obligations related to prior periods (for example, due to changes in transaction price), was not material. Further, revenue expected to be recognized in any future year related to remaining performance obligations was not material.
Other current assets includes amounts associated with Medicare Part D as discussed above and in Note 7, rebates due from pharmaceutical manufacturers and other amounts due within one year. We accrue pharmaceutical rebates as they are earned based on contractual terms and usage of the product. The balance of pharmaceutical rebates receivable was $1.3 billion at December 31, 2019 and 2018.
We periodically review long-lived assets, including property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets, for impairment whenever adverse events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. Losses are recognized for a long-lived asset to be held and used in our operations when the undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset are less than its carrying value. We recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying value over the fair value of the asset. A long-lived asset held for sale is reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. Depreciation expense is not recognized on assets held for sale. Losses are recognized for a long-lived asset to be abandoned when the asset ceases to be used. In addition, we periodically review the estimated lives of all long-lived assets for reasonableness.
We evaluate equity method investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investment might not be recoverable. Factors considered by us when reviewing an equity method investment for impairment include the length of time (duration) and the extent (severity) to which the fair value of the equity method investment has been less than carrying value, the investee’s financial condition and near-term prospects and the intent and ability to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for anticipated recovery. An impairment that is other-than-temporary is recognized in the period identified.
The completion factor method is used for the months of incurred claims prior to the most recent two months because the historical percentage of claims processed for those months is at a level sufficient to produce a consistently reliable result. Conversely, for the most recent two months of incurred claims, the volume of claims processed historically is not at a level sufficient to produce a reliable result, which therefore requires us to examine historical trend patterns as the primary method of evaluation. Changes in claim processes, including recoveries of overpayments, receipt cycle times, claim inventory levels, outsourcing, system conversions, and processing disruptions due to weather or other events affect views regarding the reasonable choice of completion factors. Claim payments to providers for services rendered are often net of overpayment recoveries for claims paid previously, as contractually allowed. Claim overpayment recoveries can result from many different factors, including retroactive enrollment activity, audits of provider billings, and/or payment errors. Changes in patterns of claim overpayment recoveries can be unpredictable and result in completion factor volatility, as they often impact older dates of service. The receipt cycle time measures the average length of time between when a medical claim was initially incurred and when the claim form was received. Increases in electronic claim submissions from providers decrease the receipt cycle time. If claims are submitted or processed on a faster (slower) pace than prior periods, the actual claim may be more (less) complete than originally estimated using our completion factors, which may result in reserves that are higher (lower) than required.
Future policy benefits payable include liabilities for long-duration insurance policies including life insurance, annuities, certain health and other supplemental, and prior to the sale of KMG in 2018, long-term care policies sold to individuals for which some of the premium received in the earlier years is intended to pay anticipated benefits to be incurred in future years. At policy issuance, these reserves are recognized on a net level premium method based on interest rates, mortality, morbidity, and maintenance expense assumptions. Interest rates are based on our expected net investment returns on the investment portfolio supporting the reserves for these blocks of business. Mortality, a measure of expected death, and morbidity, a measure of health status, assumptions are based on industry actuarial tables, modified based upon actual experience. Changes in estimates of these reserves are recognized as an adjustment to benefits expense in the period the changes occur. We perform loss recognition tests at least annually in the fourth quarter, and more frequently if adverse events or changes in circumstances indicate that the level of the liability, together with the present value of future gross premiums, may not be adequate to provide for future expected policy benefits and maintenance costs.
Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 1 assets and liabilities include securities that are traded in an active exchange market.
service may use quoted market prices of comparable securities or discounted cash flow analysis, incorporating inputs that are currently observable in the markets for similar securities. Inputs that are often used in the valuation methodologies include benchmark yields, reported trades, credit spreads, broker quotes, default rates, and prepayment speeds. We are responsible for the determination of fair value and as such we perform analysis on the prices received from the third party pricing service to determine whether the prices are reasonable estimates of fair value. Our analysis includes a review of monthly price fluctuations as well as a quarterly comparison of the prices received from the pricing service to prices reported by our third party investment adviser. In addition, on a quarterly basis we examine the underlying inputs and assumptions for a sample of individual securities across asset classes, credit rating levels, and various durations.
In March 2017, the FASB issued new guidance that amends the accounting for premium amortization on purchased callable debt securities by shortening the amortization period. This amended guidance requires the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date instead of maturity date. The new guidance was effective for us beginning with annual and interim periods in 2019. This guidance did not have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance introducing a new model for recognizing credit losses on financial instruments based on an estimate of current expected credit losses. The guidance is effective for us beginning January 1, 2020. The new current expected credit losses (CECL) model generally calls for the immediate recognition of all expected credit losses and applies to loans, accounts and trade receivables as well as other financial assets measured at amortized cost, loan commitments and off-balance sheet credit exposures, debt securities and other financial assets
In the first quarter of 2020, we acquired privately held Enclara Healthcare, or Enclara, one of the nation’s largest hospice pharmacy and benefit management providers for cash consideration of approximately $707 million, net of cash received. The purchase accounting is incomplete due to the timing of the availability of information.
On August 9, 2018, we completed the sale of KMG to Continental General Insurance Company, or CGIC, a Texas-based insurance company wholly owned by HC2 Holdings, Inc., a diversified holding company. KMG's subsidiary, Kanawha Insurance Company, or KIC, included our closed block of non-strategic commercial long-term care policies. Upon closing, we funded the transaction with approximately $190 million of parent company cash contributed into KMG, subject to customary adjustments, in addition to the transfer of approximately $160 million of statutory capital with the sale. In connection with the sale of KMG, we recognized a pretax loss, including transaction costs, of $786 million and a corresponding $452 million tax benefit.
KMG revenues and net income for the 2018 period prior to the date of sale was $182 million and $47 million, respectively. KMG revenues and net loss were $261 million and $117 million, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2017.
In the second quarter of 2018, we acquired Family Physicians Group, or FPG, for cash consideration of approximately $185 million, net of cash received. FPG serves Medicare Advantage and Managed Medicaid HMO patients in Greater Orlando, Florida with a footprint that includes clinics located in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. This resulted in a purchase price allocation to goodwill of $133 million, other intangible assets of $38 million and net tangible assets of $14 million. The goodwill was assigned to the Retail and Healthcare Services segments. The other intangible assets, which primarily consist of customer contracts, have an estimated weighted average useful life of 4.9 years. The purchase price allocations for MCCI and FPG are final.
We entered into a shareholders agreement with the Sponsors that provides for certain rights and obligations of each party. The shareholders agreement with the Sponsors includes a put option under which they have the right to require us to purchase their interest in the joint venture starting at the end of year three and ending at the end of year four following the closing. Likewise, we have a call option under which we have the right to require the Sponsors to sell their interest in the joint venture to Humana beginning at the end of 2022 and ending at the end of 2023 following the closing. The put and call options, which are exercisable at a fixed EBITDA multiple and provide a minimum return on the Sponsor's investment if exercised, are measured at fair value each period using a Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation relies on assumptions around Kindred at Home's equity value, risk free interest rates, volatility, and the details specific to the put and call options. The final purchase price allocation resulted in approximately $1 billion being allocated to the investment and $236 million and $291 million allocated to the put and call options, respectively. The fair values of the put option and call option were $28 million and $557 million, respectively, at December 31, 2019. The fair values of the put option and call option were $224 million and $246 million, respectively, at December 31, 2018.
The put option is included within other long-term liabilities and the call option is included within other long term assets. The change in fair value of the put and call options for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 of $(506) million and $33 million, respectively, are reported as "Other (income) expense, net" in our consolidated statements of income.
Gross unrealized losses and fair values aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position were as follows at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively:
The detail of realized gains (losses) related to investment securities and included within investment income was as follows for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017:
The contractual maturities of debt securities available for sale at December 31, 2019, regardless of their balance sheet classification, are shown below. Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.
The put and call options fair values, derived from the Monte Carlo simulation, were $28 million and $557 million, respectively at December 31, 2019 and $224 million and $246 million, respectively at December 31, 2018. The significant unobservable inputs utilized in these Level 3 fair value measurements (and selected values) include the enterprise value of Kindred at Home, annualized volatility (19.8%) and secured credit rate (2.2%). Enterprise value was derived from a discounted cash flow model, which utilized significant unobservable inputs for long-term net operating profit after tax margin, or NOPAT, (12.0%) to measure underlying cash flows, weighted average cost of capital (10.0%) and long term growth rate (3.0%). The calculation of NOPAT utilized net income plus after tax interest expense.
The following table presents details of our other intangible assets included in other long-term assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2019 and 2018.
Amortization expense for other intangible assets was approximately $70 million in 2019, $90 million in 2018, and $75 million in 2017. Amortization expense for 2018 included $12 million associated with the write-off of a trade name value reflecting the re-branding of certain provider assets.
We determine if a contract contains a lease by evaluating the nature and substance of the agreement. We lease facilities, computer hardware, and other furniture and equipment. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet; we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. For new lease agreements, we combine lease and nonlease components for all of our asset classes. See Note 2 for further information.
The weighted average remaining lease term is 4.9 years with a weighted average discount rate of 4.1% at December 31, 2019. For the year-ended December 31, 2019, cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities included within our operating cash flows was $151 million.
As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate, as adjusted for collateralized borrowings, based on the information available at date of adoption or commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.
As previously discussed, our reserving practice is to consistently recognize the actuarial best estimate of our ultimate liability for claims. Actuarial standards require the use of assumptions based on moderately adverse experience, which generally results in favorable reserve development, or reserves that are considered redundant. We experienced favorable medical claims reserve development related to prior fiscal years of $336 million in 2019, $503 million in 2018, and $483 million in 2017. The table below details our favorable medical claims reserve development related to prior fiscal years by segment for 2019, 2018, and 2017.
Benefits expense reduction of $22 million associated with long-duration future policy benefits for the year ended December 31, 2017 was excluded from the previous short duration benefits payable rollforward table.
The following discussion provides information about incurred and paid claims development for our segments as of December 31, 2019, net of reinsurance, as well as cumulative claim frequency and the total of IBNR included within the net incurred claims amounts. The information about incurred and paid claims development for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 is presented as supplementary information.
Claims frequency is measured as medical fee-for-service claims for each service encounter with a unique provider identification number. Our claims frequency measure includes claims covered by deductibles as well as claims under capitated arrangements. Claim counts may vary based on product mix and the percentage of delegated capitation arrangements.
Activity in benefits payable for our Retail segment was as follows for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:
At December 31, 2019, benefits payable for our Retail segment included IBNR of approximately $3.6 billion, primarily associated with claims incurred in 2019. The cumulative number of reported claims as of December 31, 2019 was approximately 123.0 million for claims incurred in 2019, 109.6 million for claims incurred in 2018, and 104.7 million for claims incurred in 2017.
The following tables provide information about incurred and paid claims development for the Retail segment as of December 31, 2019, net of reinsurance.
The following tables provide information about incurred and paid claims development for the Group and Specialty segment as of December 31, 2019, net of reinsurance.
The provision for income taxes consisted of the following for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017:
The provision for income taxes was different from the amount computed using the federal statutory rate for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 due to the following:
At December 31, 2019, we had approximately $114 million of net operating losses and $2 million of capital losses to carry forward. These loss carryforwards, if not used to offset future taxable income or capital gain, will expire from 2020 through 2033. Due to limitations and uncertainty regarding our ability to use some of the loss carryforwards and certain other deferred tax assets, a valuation allowance of $45 million was established. For the remainder of the net operating loss carryforwards and other cumulative temporary differences, based on our historical record of producing taxable income and profitability, we have concluded that future operating income will be sufficient to give rise to tax expense to recover these deferred tax assets.
We file income tax returns in the United States and Puerto Rico. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, has completed its examinations of our consolidated income tax returns for 2017 and prior years. Our 2018 tax return is in the post-filing review period under the Compliance Assurance Process, or CAP. Our 2019 tax return is under advance review by the IRS under CAP. With a few exceptions, which are immaterial in the aggregate, we no longer are subject to state, local and foreign tax examinations for years before 2016. We are not aware of any material adjustments that may be proposed as a result of any ongoing or future examinations. We do not have material uncertain tax positions reflected in our consolidated balance sheets.
The carrying value of debt outstanding was as follows at December 31, 2019 and 2018:
The terms of the credit agreement include standard provisions related to conditions of borrowing which could limit our ability to borrow additional funds. In addition, the credit agreement contains customary restrictive covenants and a financial covenant regarding maximum debt to capitalization of 50% as well as customary events of default. We are in compliance with this financial covenant, with an actual debt to capitalization of 32% as measured in accordance with the credit agreement as of December 31, 2019. Upon our agreement with one or more financial institutions, we may expand the aggregate commitments under the credit agreement to a maximum of $2.5 billion, through a $500 million incremental loan facility.
In November 2018, we entered into a $1.0 billion term note agreement with a bank at a variable rate of interest due within one year. We may elect to incur interest at either the bank's base rate or LIBOR plus 115 basis points. The base rate is defined as the higher of the daily federal funds rate plus 50 basis points; or the bank's prime rate; or LIBOR plus 100 basis points. The term note shares the customary terms and provisions as well as financial covenants of our credit agreement, as discussed above. The note was prepayable without penalty. We repaid $350 million prior to December 31, 2018 and repaid the outstanding balance of $650 million in August 2019.
In February 2020, we entered into a new $1 billion term loan commitment with a bank that allows for up to three draws with the initial draw at a minimum of $300 million that matures 1 year after the first draw, subject to a 1 year extension. Following any initial draw, any unused commitments in excess of $300 million expire on June 30, 2020, with the remaining commitments of up to $300 million available until September 30, 2020. If the initial draw
has not been made by June 30, 2020, then all commitments expire on June 30, 2020. The facility fee, interest rate and financial covenants are consistent with those of our revolving credit agreement. There is no prepayment penalty.
We have defined contribution retirement savings plans covering eligible employees which include matching contributions based on the amount of our employees’ contributions to the plans. The cost of these plans amounted to approximately $221 million in 2019, $197 million in 2018, and $217 million in 2017. The Company’s cash match is invested pursuant to the participant’s contribution direction. Based on the closing price of our common stock of $366.52 on December 31, 2019, approximately 11% of the retirement and savings plan’s assets were invested in our common stock, or approximately 1.6 million shares, representing approximately 1.2% of the shares outstanding as of December 31, 2019. At December 31, 2019, approximately 1.8 million shares of our common stock were reserved for issuance under our defined contribution retirement savings plans.
We have plans under which options to purchase our common stock and restricted stock units have been granted to executive officers, directors and key employees. Awards generally require both a change in control and termination of employment within 2 years of the date of the change in control to accelerate the vesting, including those granted to retirement-eligible participants.
The tax benefit recognized in our consolidated financial statements is based on the amount of compensation expense recorded for book purposes, subject to limitations on the deductibility of annual compensation in excess of $500,000 per employee as mandated by the Health Care Reform Law. The actual tax benefit realized in our tax return is based on the intrinsic value, or the excess of the market value over the exercise or purchase price, of stock options exercised and restricted stock vested during the period, subject to limitations on the deductibility of annual compensation in excess of $500,000 per employee as mandated by the Health Care Reform Law. The actual tax benefit realized for the
deductions taken on our tax returns from option exercises and restricted stock vesting totaled $25 million in 2019, $49 million in 2018, and $68 million in 2017. There was no capitalized stock-based compensation expense during these years.
At December 31, 2019, there were 12.5 million shares reserved for stock award plans under the Humana Inc. 2011 Stock Incentive Plan, or 2011 Plan, and 16.0 million shares reserved for stock award plans under the Humana Inc. 2019 Stock Incentive Plan, or 2019 Plan. These reserved shares included giving effect to, under the 2011 Plan, 3.8 million shares of common stock available for future grants assuming all stock options were granted or 1.7 million shares available for future grants assuming all restricted stock were granted. These reserved shares included giving effect to, under the 2019 Plan, 15.8 million shares of common stock available for future grants assuming all stock options were granted or 4.7 million shares available for future grants assuming all restricted stock were granted. Shares may be issued from authorized but unissued company stock or treasury stock.
The weighted-average fair value of each option granted during 2019, 2018, and 2017 is provided below. The fair value was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model with the weighted-average assumptions indicated below:
Activity for our option plans was as follows for the year ended December 31, 2019:
The following table provides details of dividend payments, excluding dividend equivalent rights, in 2017, 2018, and 2019 under our Board approved quarterly cash dividend policy:
In February 2020, the Board declared a cash dividend of $0.625 per share payable on April 24, 2020 to stockholders of record on March 31, 2020.
On February 16, 2017, we entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement, the February 2017 ASR, with Goldman, Sachs & Co. LLC, or Goldman Sachs, to repurchase $1.5 billion of our common stock as part of the $2.25 billion share repurchase authorized on February 14, 2017. On February 22, 2017, we made a payment of $1.5 billion to Goldman Sachs from available cash on hand and received an initial delivery of 5.83 million shares of our common stock from Goldman Sachs based on the then current market price of Humana common stock. The payment to Goldman Sachs was recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity, consisting of a $1.2 billion increase in treasury stock, which reflected the value of the initial 5.83 million shares received upon initial settlement, and a $300 million decrease in capital in excess of par value, which reflected the value of stock held back by Goldman Sachs pending final settlement of the February 2017 ASR. Upon settlement of the February 2017 ASR on August 28, 2017, we received an additional 0.84 million shares as determined by the average daily volume weighted-average share price of our common stock during the term of the agreement, less a discount, of $224.81, bringing the total shares received under this program to 6.67 million. In addition, upon settlement we reclassified the $300 million value of stock initially held back by Goldman Sachs from capital in excess of par value to treasury stock. Subsequent to settlement of the February 2017 ASR, we repurchased an additional 3.04 million shares in the open market, utilizing the remaining $750 million of the $2.25 billion authorization prior to expiration.
On November 28, 2018, we entered into an accelerated stock repurchase agreement, the November 2018 ASR, with Goldman Sachs to repurchase $750 million of our common stock as part of the $3.0 billion share repurchase program authorized by the Board of Directors on December 14, 2017. On November 29, 2018, we made a payment of $750 million to Goldman Sachs from available cash on hand and received an initial delivery of 1.94 million shares of our common stock from Goldman Sachs. The payment to Goldman Sachs was recorded as a reduction to stockholders’ equity, consisting of a $600 million increase in treasury stock, which reflected the value of the initial 1.94 million shares received upon initial settlement, and a $150 million decrease in capital in excess of par value, which reflected the value of stock held back by Goldman Sachs pending final settlement of the November 2018 ASR. Upon final settlement of the November 2018 ASR on February 28, 2019, we received an additional 0.6 million shares as determined by the average daily volume weighted-averages share price of our common stock during the term of the agreement, less a discount, of $295.15, bringing the total shares received under this program to 2.54 million. In addition, upon settlement we reclassified the $150 million value of stock initially held back by Goldman Sachs from capital in excess of par value to treasury stock.
Citi and received an initial delivery of 2.7 million shares of our common stock. We recorded the payment to Citi as a reduction to stockholders’ equity, consisting of an $800 million increase in treasury stock, which reflected the value of the initial 2.7 million shares received upon initial settlement, and a $200 million decrease in capital in excess of par value, which reflected the value of stock held back by Citi pending final settlement of the July 2019 ASR. Upon final settlement of the July 2019 ASR on December 26, 2019, we received an additional 0.7 million shares as determined by the average daily volume weighted-averages share price of our common stock during the term of the agreement, less a discount, of $296.19, bringing the total shares received under the July 2019 ASR to 3.4 million. In addition, upon settlement we reclassified the $200 million value of stock initially held back by Citi from capital in excess of par value to treasury stock.
Our remaining repurchase authorization was approximately $2.0 billion as of February 19, 2020.
Excluding shares acquired in connection with employee stock plans, share repurchases were as follows during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017.
We have agreements to purchase services, primarily information technology related services, or to make improvements to real estate, in each case that are enforceable and legally binding on us and that specify all significant terms, including: fixed or minimum levels of service to be purchased; fixed, minimum or variable price provisions; and the appropriate timing of the transaction. We have purchase obligation commitments of $922 million in 2020, $647 million in 2021, $489 million in 2022, $246 million in 2023, and $100 million in 2024. Purchase obligations exclude agreements that are cancelable without penalty.
Our Medicare products, which accounted for approximately 82% of our total premiums and services revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily consisted of products covered under the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan contracts with the federal government. These contracts are renewed generally for a calendar year term unless CMS notifies us of its decision not to renew by May 1 of the calendar year in which the contract would end, or we notify CMS of our decision not to renew by the first Monday in June of the calendar year in which the contract would end. All material contracts between Humana and CMS relating to our Medicare products have been renewed for 2020, and all of our product offerings filed with CMS for 2020 have been approved.
CMS uses a risk-adjustment model which adjusts premiums paid to Medicare Advantage, or MA, plans according to health status of covered members. The risk-adjustment model, which CMS implemented pursuant to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) and the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA), generally pays more where a plan's membership has higher expected costs. Under this model, rates paid to MA plans are based on actuarially determined bids, which include a process whereby our prospective payments are based on our estimated cost of providing standard Medicare-covered benefits to an enrollee with a "national average risk profile." That baseline payment amount is adjusted to reflect the health status of our enrolled membership. Under the risk-adjustment methodology, all MA plans must collect and submit the necessary diagnosis code information from hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, and physician providers to CMS within prescribed deadlines. The CMS risk-adjustment model uses the diagnosis data to calculate the risk-adjusted premium payment to MA plans, which CMS adjusts for coding pattern differences between the health plans and the government fee-for-service program. We generally rely on providers, including certain providers in our network who are our employees, to code their claim submissions with appropriate diagnoses, which we send to
Estimated audit settlements are recorded as a reduction of premiums revenue in our consolidated statements of income, based upon available information. We perform internal contract level audits based on the RADV audit methodology prescribed by CMS. Included in these internal contract level audits is an audit of our Private Fee-For Service business which we used to represent a proxy of the FFS Adjuster which has not yet been finalized. We based our accrual of estimated audit settlements for each contract year on the results of these internal contract level audits and update our estimates as each audit is completed. Estimates derived from these results were not material to our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. We report the results of these internal contract level audits to CMS, including identified overpayments, if any.
We believe that CMS' statements and policies regarding the requirement to report and return identified overpayments received by MA plans are inconsistent with CMS' 2012 RADV audit methodology, and the Medicare statute's requirements. These statements and policies, such as certain statements contained in the preamble to CMS’ final rule release regarding Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug benefit program regulations for Contract Year 2015 (which we refer to as the "Overpayment Rule"), and the Proposed Rule, appear to equate each Medicare Advantage risk adjustment data error with an “overpayment” without addressing the principles underlying the FFS Adjuster referenced above. On September 7, 2018, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia vacated CMS's Overpayment Rule, concluding that it violated the Medicare statute, including the requirement for actuarial equivalence, and that the Overpayment Rule was also arbitrary and capricious in departing from CMS's RADV methodology without adequate explanation (among other reasons). CMS has appealed the decision to the Circuit Court of Appeals.
At December 31, 2019, our military services business, which accounted for approximately 1% of our total premiums and services revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019, primarily consisted of the TRICARE T2017 East Region contract. The T2017 East Region contract is a consolidation of the former T3 North and South Regions, comprising thirty-two states and approximately 6 million TRICARE beneficiaries, under which delivery of health care services commenced on January 1, 2018. The T2017 East Region contract is a 5-year contract set to expire on December 31, 2022 and is subject to renewals on January 1 of each year during its term at the government's option.
As previously disclosed, on January 19, 2016, an individual filed a qui tam suit captioned United States of America ex rel. Steven Scott v. Humana, Inc., in United States District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. The complaint alleges certain civil violations by us in connection with the actuarial equivalence of the plan benefits under Humana’s Basic PDP plan, a prescription drug plan offered by us under Medicare Part D. The action seeks damages and penalties on behalf of the United States under the False Claims Act. The court ordered the qui tam action unsealed on September 13, 2017, so that the relator could proceed, following notice from the U.S. Government that it was not intervening at that time. On January 29, 2018, the suit was transferred to the United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, Louisville Division. We take seriously our obligations to comply with applicable CMS requirements and actuarial standards of practice, and continue to vigorously defend against these allegations since the transfer to the Western District of Kentucky. We have engaged in active discovery with the relator who has pursued the matter on behalf of the United States following its unsealing, and expect that discovery process to conclude in the near future and for the Court to consider our motion for summary judgment.
As a government contractor, we may also be subject to qui tam litigation brought by individuals who seek to sue on behalf of the government, alleging that the government contractor submitted false claims to the government including, among other allegations, those resulting from coding and review practices under the Medicare risk adjustment model. Qui tam litigation is filed under seal to allow the government an opportunity to investigate and to decide if it wishes to intervene and assume control of the litigation. If the government does not intervene, the individual may continue to prosecute the action on his or her own, on behalf of the government. We also are subject to other allegations of non-performance of contractual obligations to providers, members, and others, including failure to properly pay claims, improper policy terminations, challenges to our implementation of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program and other litigation.
We manage our business with three reportable segments: Retail, Group and Specialty, and Healthcare Services. Beginning January 1, 2018, we exited the individual commercial fully-insured medical health insurance business, as well as certain other business in 2018, and therefore no longer report separately the Individual Commercial segment and the Other Businesses category in the current year. Previously, the Other Businesses category included businesses that were not individually reportable because they did not meet the quantitative thresholds required by generally accepted accounting principles, primarily our closed-block of commercial long-term care insurance policies which were sold in 2018. The reportable segments are based on a combination of the type of health plan customer and adjacent businesses centered on well-being solutions for our health plans and other customers, as described below. These segment groupings are consistent with information used by our Chief Executive Officer, the chief operating decision maker, to assess performance and allocate resources.
The Retail segment consists of Medicare benefits, marketed to individuals or directly via group Medicare accounts. In addition, the Retail segment also includes our contract with CMS to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition, or LI-NET, prescription drug plan program and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and Long-Term Support Services benefits, which we refer to collectively as our state-based contracts. The Group and Specialty segment consists of employer group commercial fully-insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits marketed to individuals and employer groups, including dental, vision, and other supplemental health benefits, as well as administrative services only, or ASO products. In addition, our Group and Specialty segment includes our military services business, primarily our TRICARE T2017 East Region contract. The Healthcare Services segment
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the valuation of IBNR is a critical audit matter are there was significant judgment by management when developing the estimate of IBNR. This in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and evaluating actuarial methodologies and significant assumptions, including completion factors and per member per month claims trends. Also, the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in performing these procedures and evaluating the audit evidence obtained from these procedures.
Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to the valuation of IBNR, including controls over the actuarial methodologies and development of significant assumptions related to completion factors and per member per month claims trends. These procedures also included, among others, involvement of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in developing an independent estimate of IBNR. This independent estimate includes a range of reasonable outcomes which are compared to management’s estimate of IBNR. Developing the independent estimate involved developing independent completion factors and per member per month claims trends assumptions using management’s data, testing the completeness and accuracy of data provided by management, and evaluating the reasonableness of management’s assumptions.
As described in Notes 2 and 9 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated goodwill balance was $3.9 billion as of December 31, 2019, and the goodwill associated with the Provider and Clinical Reporting Units was $1.3 billion. Management conducts an impairment test in the fourth quarter of each year and more frequently if adverse events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired. Management relies on a discounted cash flow analysis to determine fair value and uses discount rates that correspond to a market-based weighted-average cost of capital, and terminal growth rates that correspond to long-term growth prospects, consistent with the long-term inflation rate. Key assumptions in management’s cash flow projections, including revenue growth rates, medical and operating cost trends, and projected operating income, are consistent with those utilized in management’s long-range business plan and annual planning process.
A summary of our quarterly unaudited results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 follows: