| Significant Accounting Policies | SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with maturity of three months or less when purchased. We had no checks outstanding, net of deposits as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014. Checks outstanding, net of deposits are classified as accounts payable and other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets and the changes are reflected in the line item net increase (decrease) in checks outstanding, net of deposits within the cash flows from financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Investments Investments classified as available-for-sale, which consist primarily of debt securities, are stated at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses are excluded from earnings and reported as other comprehensive income, net of income tax effects. The cost of investments sold is determined in accordance with the specific identification method and realized gains and losses are included in net investment income. We analyze all debt investments that have unrealized losses for impairment consideration and assess the intent to sell such securities. If such intent exists, impaired securities are considered other-than-temporarily impaired. Management also assesses if we may be required to sell the debt investments prior to the recovery of amortized cost, which may also trigger an impairment charge. If securities are considered other-than-temporarily impaired based on intent or ability, we assess whether the amortized costs of the securities can be recovered. If management anticipates recovering an amount less than the amortized cost of the securities, an impairment charge is calculated based on the expected discounted cash flows of the securities. Any deficit between the amortized cost and the expected cash flows is recorded through earnings as a charge. All other temporary impairment charges are recorded through other comprehensive income. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 , respectively, no losses were recognized from other-than-temporary impairments. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The estimated fair value amounts of cash equivalents, investments available-for-sale, premiums and other receivables, notes receivable and notes payable have been determined by using available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. The carrying amounts of cash equivalents approximate fair value due to the short maturity of those instruments. Fair values for debt and equity securities are generally based upon quoted market prices. Where quoted market prices were not readily available, fair values were estimated using valuation methodologies based on available and observable market information. Such valuation methodologies include reviewing the value ascribed to the most recent financing, comparing the security with securities of publicly traded companies in a similar line of business, and reviewing the underlying financial performance including estimating discounted cash flows. The carrying value of premiums and other receivables, long-term notes receivable and nonmarketable securities approximates the fair value of such financial instruments. The fair value of notes payable is estimated based on the quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on the current rates offered to us for debt with the same remaining maturities. The fair value of our fixed-rate borrowings was $418.5 million and $437.0 million as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the fair value of our variable-rate borrowings under our revolving credit facility was $210.0 million and $100.0 million , respectively. The fair value of our fixed-rate borrowings was determined using the quoted market price, which is a Level 1 input in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of our variable-rate borrowings was estimated to equal the carrying value because the interest rates paid on these borrowings were based on prevailing market rates. Since the pricing inputs are other than quoted prices and fair value is determined using an income approach, our variable-rate borrowings are classified as a Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. See Notes 7 and 8 for additional information regarding our financing arrangements and fair value measurements, respectively. Health Plan Services Revenue Recognition Health plan services premium revenues generally include HMO, PPO, EPO and POS premiums from employer groups and individuals and from Medicare recipients who have purchased supplemental benefit coverage, for which premiums are based on a predetermined prepaid fee, Medicaid revenues based on multi-year contracts to provide care to Medicaid recipients, revenue under Medicare risk contracts to provide care to enrolled Medicare recipients and revenue relating to our dual eligible members who are participating in the California Coordinated Care Initiative (the "CCI"). Revenue is recognized in the month in which the related enrollees are entitled to health care services. Premiums collected in advance of the month in which enrollees are entitled to health care services are recorded as unearned premiums. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the “ACA”), commercial health plans with medical loss ratios ("MLR") on fully insured products, as calculated as set forth in the ACA, that fall below certain targets are required to rebate ratable portions of their premiums annually. We classify the estimated rebates, if any, as a reduction to health plan services premiums in our consolidated statement of operations. Estimated rebates for our commercial health plans were $0.4 million for each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and $0 for each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014. In addition to the rebates for the commercial health plans under the ACA, there is also a medical loss ratio corridor for the California Department of Health Care Services ("DHCS") adult Medicaid expansion members under the state Medicaid program in California ("Medi-Cal") from January 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 and for annual periods thereafter. If our MLR for this population is below 85% , then we would have to pay DHCS a rebate. If the MLR is above 95% , then DHCS would have to pay us additional premium. As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, we have accrued $270.3 million and $200.6 million , respectively, in MLR rebates with respect to this population payable to DHCS. Our Medicaid contract with the state of Arizona contains profit-sharing provisions. If our Arizona Medicaid profits are in excess of the amount we are allowed to fully retain, we record a payable and reduce health plan services premiums. With respect to our Arizona Medicaid contract, the profit corridor receivable balance included in other current assets as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $1.3 million and $0 , respectively, the balance included in other noncurrent assets as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $0 and $2.3 million , respectively, and the profit corridor payable balance included in accounts payable and other liabilities as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $0 and $27.0 million , respectively. The profit corridor payable balance included in other noncurrent liabilities as of September 30, 2015 was $34.1 million and $0 as of December 31, 2014. In the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System ("AHCCCS") withheld $36.2 million in connection with the profit corridor payable from our capitation payment. See below in this Note 2 under the heading "Accounting for Certain Provisions of the ACA" for additional information. The following table presents information regarding the impact to health plan services premium revenues related to the Medi-Cal MLR rebates and our Arizona Medicaid contract profit-sharing provisions (amounts in millions): Increase (Decrease) in Health Plan Services Premium Revenue Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015 2014 2015 2014 Medi-Cal MLR rebates $ (8.8 ) $ (45.3 ) $ (69.7 ) $ (45.3 ) AZ Medicaid contract profit-sharing provisions (18.5 ) (3.9 ) (44.3 ) (11.9 ) Our Medicare Advantage contracts are with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS"). CMS deploys a risk adjustment model which apportions premiums paid to all health plans according to health severity and certain demographic factors. This risk adjustment model results in periodic changes in our risk factor adjustment scores for certain diagnostic codes, which then result in changes to our health plan services premium revenues. Because the recorded revenue is based on our best estimate at the time, the actual payment we receive from CMS for risk adjustment reimbursement settlements may be materially different than the amounts we have initially recognized on our financial statements. Our premiums from the Medi-Cal programs and other state-sponsored health programs are subject to certain retroactive premium adjustments based on expected and actual health care costs. In addition, our state-sponsored health care programs in California, including Medi-Cal, seniors and persons with disabilities ("SPD") programs, the dual eligibles demonstration portion of the California Coordinated Care Initiative that began in April 2014 and Medicaid expansion under federal health care reform that began in January 2014, are subject to retrospective premium adjustments based on certain risk sharing provisions included in our state-sponsored health plans rate settlement agreement described below. We estimate and recognize the retrospective adjustments to premium revenue based upon experience to date under our state-sponsored health care programs contracts. The retrospective premium adjustment is recorded as an adjustment to premium revenue and other noncurrent assets. On November 2, 2012, we entered into a state-sponsored health plans rate settlement agreement (the "Agreement") with the DHCS to settle historical rate disputes with respect to our participation in the Medi-Cal program, for rate years prior to the 2011–2012 rate year. As part of the Agreement, DHCS agreed, among other things, to (1) an extension of all of our Medi-Cal managed care contracts existing as of the date of the Agreement for an additional five years from their then existing expiration dates; (2) retrospective premium adjustments on all of our state-sponsored health care programs, including Medi-Cal, which includes SPDs, Healthy Families, the dual eligibles demonstration portion of the CCI that began in 2014 and Medi-Cal expansion populations that also began in 2014 (our “state-sponsored health care programs”), which are tracked in a settlement account as discussed in more detail below; and (3) compensate us should DHCS terminate any of our state-sponsored health care programs contracts early. Effective January 1, 2013, the settlement account (the "Account") was established with an initial balance of zero . The balance in the Account is adjusted annually to reflect retrospective premium adjustments for each calendar year (referenced in the Agreement as a "deficit" or "surplus"). A deficit or surplus will result to the extent our actual pretax margin (as defined in the Agreement) on our state-sponsored health care programs is below or above a predetermined pretax margin target. The amount of any deficit or surplus is calculated as described in the Agreement. Cash settlement of the Account will occur on December 31, 2019, except that under certain circumstances the DHCS may extend the final settlement for up to three additional one-year periods (as may be extended, the "Term"). In addition, the DHCS will make an interim partial settlement payment to us if it terminates any of our state-sponsored health care programs contracts early. Upon expiration of the Term, if the Account is in a surplus position, then no monies are owed to either party. If the Account is in a deficit position, then DHCS shall pay the amount of the deficit to us. In no event, however, shall the amount paid by DHCS to us under the Agreement exceed $264 million or be less than an alternative minimum amount as defined in the Agreement. We estimate and recognize the retrospective adjustments to premium revenue based upon experience to date under our state-sponsored health care programs contracts. The retrospective premium adjustment is recorded as an adjustment to premium revenue and other noncurrent assets. As of September 30, 2015, we had calculated a surplus of $264.1 million . As a surplus Account position results in no monies due to either party upon expiration of the Term, we have no receivable and no payable recorded as of September 30, 2015 in connection with the Agreement. As of December 31, 2014, we had calculated a surplus of $53.4 million under the Agreement and reduced our receivable to zero , reflecting our cumulative estimated retrospective premium adjustment to the Account based on our actual pretax margin for the period beginning on January 1, 2013 and ending on December 31, 2014. The following table presents information regarding the impact to health plan services premium revenues related to the change in prior years Medicare risk adjustment revenues, retroactive premium adjustments for our Medi-Cal and other state-sponsored health programs and the change in deficit calculated under our state-sponsored health plans rate settlement agreement (amounts in millions): Increase (Decrease) in Health Plan Services Premium Revenue Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2015 2014 2015 2014 Change in prior years risk adjustment revenue estimate $ (1.4 ) $ (5.5 ) $ 2.3 $ 14.5 Retroactive premium adjustments for prior years Medi-Cal member risk reassignment — — 29.8 — Change in deficit calculated under our state-sponsored health plans rate settlement agreement — (9.6 ) — (62.9 ) Health Plan Services Health Care Cost The cost of health care services is recognized in the period in which services are provided and includes an estimate of the cost of services that have been incurred but not yet reported. Such costs include payments to primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals and outpatient care facilities, and the costs associated with managing the extent of such care. Our health care cost also can include from time to time remediation of certain claims as a result of periodic reviews by various regulatory agencies. We estimate the amount of the provision for health care service costs incurred but not yet reported ("IBNR") in accordance with GAAP and using standard actuarial developmental methodologies based upon historical data including the period between the date services are rendered and the date claims are received and paid, denied claim activity, expected medical cost inflation, seasonality patterns and changes in membership, among other things. Our IBNR best estimate also includes a provision for adverse deviation, which is an estimate for known environmental factors that are reasonably likely to affect the required level of IBNR reserves. This provision for adverse deviation is intended to capture the potential adverse development from known environmental factors such as our entry into new geographical markets, changes in our geographic or product mix, the introduction of new customer populations, variation in benefit utilization, disease outbreaks, changes in provider reimbursement, fluctuations in medical cost trend, variation in claim submission patterns and variation in claims processing speed and payment patterns, changes in technology that provide faster access to claims data or changes in the speed of adjudication and settlement of claims, variability in claims inventory levels, non-standard claim development, and/or exceptional situations that require judgmental adjustments in setting the reserves for claims. We consistently apply our IBNR estimation methodology from period to period. Our IBNR best estimate is made on an accrual basis and adjusted in future periods as required. Any adjustments to the prior period estimates are included in the current period. As additional information becomes known to us, we adjust our assumptions accordingly to change our estimate of IBNR. Therefore, if moderately adverse conditions do not occur, evidenced by more complete claims information in the following period, then our prior period estimates will be revised downward, resulting in favorable development. However, any favorable prior period reserve development would increase current period net income only to the extent that the current period provision for adverse deviation is less than the benefit recognized from the prior period favorable development. If moderately adverse conditions occur and are more acute than we estimated, then our prior period estimates will be revised upward, resulting in unfavorable development, which would decrease current period net income. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, we had $9.8 million and $109.4 million , respectively, in net favorable reserve developments related to prior years. The amount for the three months ended September 30, 2015 consisted of $8.8 million in favorable prior year development and a release of $1.0 million of the provision for adverse deviation held at December 31, 2014. The amount for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 consisted of $31.7 million in favorable prior year development and a release of $77.7 million of the provision for adverse deviation held at December 31, 2014. We believe that the $31.7 million favorable development for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was primarily due to the growth of the new Medicaid expansion population in 2014. As part of our best estimate for IBNR, the provision for adverse deviation recorded as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $84.3 million and $77.7 million , respectively. For the three months ended September 30, 2014, we had $9.7 million in net unfavorable reserve developments related to prior years. For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, we had $16.9 million in net favorable reserve developments related to prior years. The amount for the three months ended September 30, 2014 consisted of $10.4 million in unfavorable prior year development primarily due to the existence of moderately adverse conditions and a release of $0.7 million of the provision for adverse deviation held at December 31, 2013. The amount for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 consisted of $34.5 million in unfavorable prior year development primarily due to the existence of moderately adverse conditions and a release of $51.4 million of the provision for adverse deviation held at December 31, 2013. We believe that the $10.4 million and $34.5 million unfavorable developments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, respectively, were due to unanticipated benefit utilization in our commercial business arising from dates of service in the fourth quarter of 2013 as a result of an uncertain environment related to the ACA. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the reserve development related to prior years, when considered together with the provision for adverse deviation recorded as of September 30, 2015, did not have a material impact on our operating results or financial condition. The majority of the IBNR reserve balance held at each quarter-end is associated with the most recent months' incurred services because these are the services for which the fewest claims have been paid. The degree of uncertainty in the estimates of incurred claims is greater for the most recent months' incurred services. Revised estimates for prior periods are determined in each quarter based on the most recent updates of paid claims for prior periods. Estimates for service costs incurred but not yet reported are subject to the impact of changes in the regulatory environment, economic conditions, changes in claims trends, and numerous other factors. Given the inherent variability of such estimates, the actual liability could differ materially from the amounts estimated. Government Contracts On April 1, 2011, we began delivery of administrative services under our Managed Care Support Contract (the "T-3 contract") for the TRICARE North Region. The T-3 contract was awarded to us on May 13, 2010, and included five one-year option periods. On March 15, 2014, the U.S. Department of Defense ("Department of Defense" or "DoD") exercised the last of these options, which extended the T-3 contract through March 31, 2015. On June 27, 2014, at the DoD's request, we submitted a proposal to add three additional one-year option periods to the T-3 contract. In March 2015, the DoD modified our T-3 contract to add three additional one-year option periods and awarded us the first of the three option periods, which allows us to continue providing access to health care services to TRICARE beneficiaries through March 31, 2016. If all three one-year option periods are ultimately exercised, the T-3 contract would conclude on March 31, 2018. On April 24, 2015, the DoD issued its final request for proposal for the next generation TRICARE contract (the "T-2017 contracts"). On July 23, 2015, we responded to the DoD's request for proposal, which will reduce the three existing TRICARE regions to two regions. The DoD anticipates it will award the T-2017 contracts in the first quarter of 2016, with health care delivery commencing on April 1, 2017. Revenues and expenses associated with the T-3 contract are reported as part of Government Contracts revenues and Government Contracts expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and included in the Government Contracts reportable segment. Concentrations of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash equivalents, investments and premiums receivable. All cash equivalents and investments are managed within established guidelines, which provide us diversity among issuers. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to premiums receivable are limited due to the large number of payers comprising our customer base. The federal government is the primary customer of our Government Contracts reportable segment with fees and premiums associated with this customer accounting for approximately 96% of our Government Contracts revenue. In addition, the federal government is a significant customer of our Western Region Operations reportable segment as a result of our contract with CMS for coverage of Medicare-eligible individuals. Furthermore, our Medicaid revenue is derived in California through our contracts with the DHCS, and in Arizona through our contract with AHCCCS. The DHCS is a significant customer of our Western Region Operations reportable segment. Comprehensive Income Comprehensive income includes all changes in stockholders’ equity (except those arising from transactions with stockholders) and includes net income (loss), net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) after tax on investments available-for-sale and prior service cost and net loss related to our defined benefit pension plan. Our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014 are as follows: Unrealized Gains (Losses) on investments available-for-sale Defined Benefit Pension Plans Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Three Months Ended September 30: (Dollars in millions) Balance as of July 1, 2014 $ 3.9 $ (4.4 ) $ (0.5 ) Other comprehensive income before reclassifications 1.3 — 1.3 Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (0.2 ) 0.1 (0.1 ) Other comprehensive income for the three months ended September 30, 2014 1.1 0.1 1.2 Balance as of September 30, 2014 $ 5.0 $ (4.3 ) $ 0.7 Balance as of July 1, 2015 $ (2.8 ) $ (10.7 ) $ (13.5 ) Other comprehensive income before reclassifications 7.3 — 7.3 Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income 0.1 0.4 0.5 Other comprehensive income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 7.4 0.4 7.8 Balance as of September 30, 2015 $ 4.6 $ (10.3 ) $ (5.7 ) Nine Months Ended September 30: Balance as of January 1, 2014 $ (28.3 ) $ (4.6 ) $ (32.9 ) Other comprehensive income before reclassifications 35.0 — 35.0 Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (1.7 ) 0.3 (1.4 ) Other comprehensive income for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 33.3 0.3 33.6 Balance as of September 30, 2014 $ 5.0 $ (4.3 ) $ 0.7 Balance as of January 1, 2015 $ 8.2 $ (11.5 ) $ (3.3 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income before reclassifications (2.3 ) — (2.3 ) Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (1.3 ) 1.2 (0.1 ) Other comprehensive (loss) income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 (3.6 ) 1.2 (2.4 ) Balance as of September 30, 2015 $ 4.6 $ (10.3 ) $ (5.7 ) The following table shows reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income and the affected line items in the consolidated statements of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014: Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30, Affected line item in the Consolidated Statements of Operations 2015 2014 2015 2014 (Dollars in millions) Unrealized (losses) gains on investments available-for-sale $ (0.1 ) $ 0.3 $ 2.1 $ 2.6 Net investment income (0.1 ) 0.3 2.1 2.6 Total before tax — 0.1 0.8 0.9 Tax expense (0.1 ) 0.2 1.3 1.7 Net of tax Amortization of defined benefit pension items: Prior-service cost (0.1 ) (0.1 ) (0.3 ) (0.3 ) (a) Actuarial gains (losses) (0.5 ) (0.1 ) (1.6 ) (0.2 ) (a) (0.6 ) (0.2 ) (1.9 ) (0.5 ) Total before tax (0.2 ) (0.1 ) (0.7 ) (0.2 ) Tax benefit (0.4 ) (0.1 ) (1.2 ) (0.3 ) Net of tax Total reclassifications for the period $ (0.5 ) $ 0.1 $ 0.1 $ 1.4 Net of tax _________ (a) These accumulated other comprehensive income components are included in the computation of net periodic pension cost. Earnings Per Share Basic earnings per share excludes dilution and reflects net income divided by the weighted average shares of common stock outstanding during the periods presented. Diluted earnings per share is based upon the weighted average shares of common stock and dilutive common stock equivalents (this reflects the potential dilution that could occur if stock options were exercised and restricted stock units ("RSUs") and performance share units ("PSUs") were vested) outstanding during the periods presented. The inclusion or exclusion of common stock equivalents arising from stock options, RSUs and PSUs in the computation of diluted earnings per share is determined using the treasury stock method. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 , respectively, 1,117,000 shares and 1,128,000 shares of dilutive common stock equivalents were outstanding and were included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. For the three months ended September 30, 2014, 1,278,000 shares of common stock equivalents were excluded from the computation of loss per share due to their anti-dilutive effect. For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, 1,122,000 shares of dilutive common stock equivalents were outstanding and were included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 , respectively, an aggregate of 27,000 shares and 28,000 shares of common stock equivalents were considered anti-dilutive and were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, an aggregate of 779,000 shares of common stock equivalents were considered anti-dilutive and were not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share. Stock options expire at various times through February 2019 . In May 2011 , our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program for the repurchase of up to $300 million of our outstanding common stock (our "stock repurchase program"). On March 8, 2012, our Board of Directors approved a $323.7 million increase to our stock repurchase program and on December 16, 2014, our Board of Directors approved another $257.8 million increase to our stock repurchase program. This latest increase, which when taken together with the remaining authorization at that time, brought our total authorization up to $400 million . As of December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2015, the remaining authorization under our stock repurchase program was $400.0 million and $306.2 million , respectively. See Note 6 for more information regarding our stock repurchase program. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets We performed our annual impairment test on our goodwill and other intangible assets as of June 30, 2015 for our Western Region Operations reporting unit and also re-evaluated the useful lives of our other intangible assets. No goodwill impairment was identified. We also determined that the estimated useful lives of our other intangible assets properly reflected the current estimated useful lives. The carrying amount of goodwill by reporting unit is as follows: Western Total (Dollars in millions) Balance as of December 31, 2014 $ 558.9 $ 558.9 Balance as of September 30, 2015 $ 558.9 $ 558.9 The intangible assets that continue to be subject to amortization using the straight-line method over their estimated lives are as follows: Gross Accumulated Net Weighted (Dollars in millions) As of September 30, 2015: Provider networks $ 41.5 $ (37.8 ) $ 3.7 18.9 Customer relationships and other 29.5 (23.5 ) 6.0 11.1 $ 71.0 $ (61.3 ) $ 9.7 As of December 31, 2014: Provider networks $ 41.5 $ (36.9 ) $ 4.6 18.9 Customer relationships and other 29.5 (22.3 ) 7.2 11.1 $ 71.0 $ (59.2 ) $ 11.8 Estimated annual pretax amortization expense for other intangible assets for each of the next five years ending December 31 is as follows (dollars in millions): Year Amount 2015 $ 2.8 2016 2.2 2017 2.2 2018 2.1 2019 0.9 Restricted Assets We and our consolidated subsidiaries are required to set aside certain funds that may only be used for certain purposes pursuant to state regulatory requirements. We have discretion as to whether we invest such funds in cash and cash equivalents or other investments. As of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the restricted cash and cash equivalents balances totaled $0.2 million and $0.2 million , respectively, and are included in other noncurrent assets. Investment securities held by trustees or agencies were $28.1 million and $24.0 million as of September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, and are included in investments available-for-sale. Accounting for Certain Provisions of the ACA Premium-based Fee on Health Insurers The ACA mandated significant reforms to various aspects of the U.S. health insurance industry. Among other things, the ACA imposes an annual premium-based fee on health insurers (the "health insurer fee") for each calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2014 which is not deductible for federal income tax purposes and in many state jurisdictions. The health insurer fee is levied based on a ratio of an insurer's net health insurance premiums written for the previous calendar year compared to the U.S. health insurance industry total. We are required to estimate a liability for our portion of the health insurer 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 calendar year that it is payable. We paid the federal government $233.0 million in September 2015 for our portion of the 2015 health insurer fee based on 2014 premiums in accordance with the ACA. We had recorded a liability for this fee in other current liabilities with an offsetting deferred cost in other current assets in our consolidated financial statements. In September 2014, we paid the federal government $141.4 million for our portion of the health insurer fee based on 2013 premiums. Our general and administrative expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 include amortization of the deferred cost of $58.4 million and $174.7 million , respectively. Our general and administrative expenses for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 include amortization of the deferred cost of $31.9 million and $106.1 million , respectively. The remaining deferred cost asset was appr |
