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BETA Healthcare Group (BETA) is the largest professional liability insurer of hospitals on the West Coast and provides coverage to more than 575 hospital and healthcare facility locations.

In addition, BETA provides workers’ compensation coverage for over 50,000 healthcare workers in California. BETA also has a long-established and growing commitment to physicians, providing medical professional liability coverage to over 6,700 physicians and more than 50 medical groups.

Beyond primary liability and workers’ compensation coverage, BETA provides an entire suite of alternative risk and insurance services, including excess healthcare professional liability coverage, excess workers’ compensation coverage, third-party claims administration services, risk management consulting services and claims management consulting services.

Whether with hospitals, medical groups, clinics or hospices, BETA has earned a reputation for financial strength, rate stability, quality service and breadth of coverage that is unparalleled in the industry.

A Joint Powers Authority

A risk management joint powers authority (JPA) like BETA Risk Management Authority (BETARMA) enables district, county, city, and nonprofit healthcare facilities to self-insure their liability claims and losses by pooling risks among similar healthcare facilities. While traditional insurance companies also “pool” their risks, the JPA structure offers four distinct benefits over other risk-financing mechanisms:

  • Members design and control the program free from California Department of Insurance regulation
  • The program pays no state premium tax
  • The program pays no state or federal income tax
  • The program has no shareholders to influence decisions

Mission Statement

BETA Healthcare Group partners with healthcare providers to manage risk.

Vision Statement

BETA Healthcare Group assists healthcare providers in improving their quality, safety and financial results by providing superior risk management products and services.

WELCOME FROM THE CEO

BETA is committed to providing its members with the broadest, most favorably priced coverages possible while offering leading-edge risk management and patient and employee safety programs.

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BETA Fact Sheet

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

 

Download (.pdf) the 2023 Annual Report.

View the 2023 Annual Report (digital version) here

Members can log in to view current audited financials and prior annual reports here.

BETA HISTORY

Since 1979, BETA Risk Management Authority has grown to 156 JPA members, becoming one of the nation's largest risk-sharing pools.

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ADDITIONAL LINKS

BETA Risk Management Authority (BETARMA) is operated by and for its members. As a special purpose district, BETArma provides liability and workers’ compensation coverage to non-profit, district, city and county healthcare facilities and private physicians working at these facilities. In addition, another BETA-related organization, Health Providers Insurance Reciprocal, a Risk Retention Group (HealthPro), covers medical groups, physicians and for-profit healthcare facilities. Members’ annual contributions are utilized to provide liability coverage and supporting programs, representing a cost-effective departure from the traditional insurance model. With no shareholders to compensate, excess revenues from favorable loss experience and investment income can be returned to members or reinvested in the program to ensure long-term rate stability.

Policy decisions are made by the BETA Council, whose members are elected from among participating facilities. The BETA Council and its committees meet quarterly to vote on all matters affecting the program, including strategic goals, coverage changes and new product decisions. The direct line of authority between the BETA Council and BETA staff has fostered a culture based on responsiveness and shared objectives.

HealthPro’s attorney-in-fact, BETAlliance Insurance Services (BAIS), is a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation formed in 1994 to act as the “sponsoring” association for HealthPro, and to coordinate risk management/quality assurance programs for its members.  It also has a member-elected governing body, the BETAlliance (BAIS) Board.

As a joint powers authority (JPA), BETA Risk Management Authority (BETARMA) pays no federal income tax, state income tax or state premium tax. These savings, along with careful management of contributions and reserves, have allowed BETA to maintain stable rates and low operational costs.

2018 BETA Financial Summary

  • Annual member contributions: $131 million
  • Total assets: $645 million
  • Net Position: $244 million
  • AM Best rating: A (Excellent) with a "stable" outlook

In 2017, BETA Healthcare Group covered:

  • Licensed beds: 13,037
  • Physicians: 5,874
  • Surgeries: 339,872
  • Outpatient visits: 8,753,021
  • Births: 53,200

Due to our organizational structure, outstanding loss experience and strong reserves, BETA Risk Management Authority’s (BETARMA) rates are lower than the published rates of any commercial insurer offering professional liability coverage in California. Our financial success has allowed us to return dividend credits every year since 1992.

BETA keeps its rates low and stable by:

  • using 85 percent of assets to generate investment income
  • using investment income to pay administrative expenses
  • crediting profits back to members
  • maintaining strong reserve levels
  • reducing member exposures and claims through expert claims management, risk management and underwriting
  • utilizing the tax exempt advantages of a joint powers authority

Stable and reasonable rates are another key factor affecting our financial strength. As a company that is operated for the benefit of its members, it is imperative that we keep rates as low as actuarially possible.

BETA Risk Management Authority (BETARMA) was established on June 1, 1979 to offer an alternative to the tremendous rate swings hospitals had experienced with commercial insurance carriers. We remain committed to rate stability. BETA’s actuaries, Willis Towers Watson and Bickmore, continuously reviews the program’s loss experience to ensure adequate reserves and rates, and we hire an outside actuarial consultant to review the program’s rate-making methodology every three years. This attention to detail has helped us adequately fund losses and maintain the most stable rates in the industry.

As a member-governed organization, BETA Healthcare Group (BETA) is dedicated to serving the needs of its member facilities and medical groups. Year after year, customer surveys give BETA’s staff high marks for their expertise, responsiveness, and service orientation. Every BETA department—claims, risk management, underwriting and client services and information technology—acts as a resource to help members reduce exposures, manage risks and reduce coverage costs.

BETA’s claims management program continues to perform exceptionally well due in large measure to our high level of expertise and ability to maintain lower-than-average case loads for each professional liability representative. With lower case loads, claims professionals can devote more time to the details of each case, use our internal resources more effectively and reduce the need for outside legal services.

At BETA Healthcare Group, our goal is to help ensure that every outcome and the experience of every patient and family is the best it can be. To achieve this, our team works closely with yours to identify and eliminate possible risks. We’ve created a comprehensive suite of programs and services that make mitigating and managing risk easier and more efficient—and all are available as a complimentary benefit to our members and insureds. With less risk comes better care, with better care comes stronger teams and healthier patients.

BETA Healthcare Group (BETA) offers a full complement of coverages through its liability pool, affiliate organizations and partnerships.

BETA Risk Management Authority (BETARMA) Coverages

Health Providers Insurance Reciprocal, RRG, Coverages

BETA Healthcare Group Products

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