Oxford Health Plans Executive Resigns

Andrew Cassidy resigned as chief financial officer at Oxford Health Plans Inc. one day after the company reported a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss. Cassidy will remain as CFO until a replacement is found, the company said. The Norwalk, Conn.-based operator of health maintenance organizations said it has hired a search firm to recruit a successor. Oxford Health said delays in billing customers and paying doctors led to a wider loss in the third quarter than it forecast just last week. The company posted a loss of $78.2 million, or 99 cents a share, compared with year-earlier net income of $26.7 million, or 33 cents. The third-quarter loss was worse than the average of 87 cents a share predicted by 13 analysts at IBES International Inc. Oxford shares plunged 62% last week when the company warned it would have a third-quarter loss of 83 to 88 cents a share. Oxford shares fell $1.44 to close at $23.88 on Nasdaq.