MM Curator summary
[MM Curator Summary]: The MCO giant – like other national logo MCOs- has seen its enrollment and margins surge during the pandemic.
The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.
Anthem’s fourth quarter profits doubled to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter thanks to strong … [+] enrollment in its Medicaid plans that have drawn more people to such coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said Jan. 26, 2022. In this Feb. 5, 2015 photos is an exterior view of the Anthem Health Insurance headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)
2015 Getty Images
Anthem’s fourth quarter profits doubled to $1.1 billion in the fourth quarter thanks to strong enrollment in its Medicaid plans that have drawn more people to such coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anthem, which operates an array of government and commercial health insurance including Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, Wednesday reported fourth quarter profits of $1.1 billion, or $4.63, compared to $551 million, or $2.19 in the year ago quarter. Revenue rose nearly 15% to $36.58 billion.
Anthem’s membership grew by 2.4 million, or 5.7%, to 45.4 million as of Dec. 31, 2021 compared to a year ago. “During the fourth quarter of 2021, medical enrollment increased sequentially by 303 thousand driven by organic growth in the Medicaid business, and growth in commercial risk-based and fee-based membership,” the company said in reporting its fourth quarter earnings.
Health insurers like Anthem enroll low income Americans into private Medicaid plans via contracts with states. Medicaid is one of Anthem’s biggest businesses, growing by 20% in the fourth quarter to 10.6 million enrollees at the end of 2021 from 8.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue in Anthem’s government business that includes Medicaid rose nearly 17% to $21.9 billion in the fourth quarter compared to $18.7 billion a year ago.