Recognizing in part the companies’ market presence and brand name recognition, A.M. Best has upgraded the ratings of two of UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiaries in New York and New Jersey.

The ratings service upgraded the financial strength ratings to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings to “a” from “a-” for the Oxford Health Plans in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and Oxford Health Insurance, Inc.

The plans offer health care benefits to employers and individuals in the three states with commercial products and services, including traditional HMOs, PPOs and exclusive provider organizations, point-of-service plans and consumer-driven health plans.

In addition to the market and name benefits, especially in the New York City metro market, A.M. Best also noted the subsidiaries’ solid-risk based capitalization and strong earnings, especially at Oxford Health Plans, based in New York, and Oxford Health Insurance.

The upgrades come as part of A.M. Best affirming the financial strength and issuer credit ratings for the majority of the insurance subsidiaries of Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group.

The affirmation of the ratings for the parent company and its subsidiaries reflects the organization’s significant market presence and diversified health care operations, A.M. Best said. UnitedHealth is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health benefits companies serving more than 70 million Americans through a variety of products.

Partially offsetting factors for UnitedHealth include financial leverage and risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, the ratings service noted. A.M. Best also showed concerns with several developments in the past few years, including a decreasing earnings before interest and taxes interest coverage and a steady decline in the percentage of company income from non-regulated companies.

Also included in A.M. Best’s most recent ratings affirmation for UnitedHealth were the UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. of New York, Unimerica Life Insurance Co., and UnitedHealthcare of New York, which all had its financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” affirmed. The financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” were affirmed for AmeriChoice of New Jersey.

The outlook for all ratings was “stable.”