Employee Benefits Compliance, Health Insurance Marketplaces

Health Insurers’ Profitability in Q2 2017

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Health insurers’ profitability in the second quarter of 2017 probably would be old news by now, except that it was one of the topics of discussion at the recent Senate HELP Committee hearings on stabilizing the individual insurance market.  In defense of the insurers (and as the Anthem executive at the hearings pointed out),  many of the insurers made money in the Medicare, Medicaid and group health insurance markets and lost money in the individual market, which is why some of them exited the individual market in many states. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) suggested that perhaps Anthem (and other health insurers) should stay in the individual market where people need insurance, since they are making money from the government in the Medicare and Medicaid markets and from employers and employees in the group health plan market.

There are two sides to every argument, but the net income numbers for Q2 2017 are pretty impressive.

Insurance Company Profits, 2017 Q2

Insurance CoNet Income  Q2 2017Net Income  Q2 2016Revenues  Q2 2017Revenue  Q2 2016Operating Exp Q2 2017Operating Exp Q2 2016
Aetna$1.2 bil$791 mil$15.5 bil$16 bil$2.6 bil$2.9 bil
Anthem$855.3 mil$780.6 mil$22.2 bili$21.3 bil$21.2 bil$20 bil
Cigna$813 mil$510 mil$10.3 bil$10 bil$9.2 bil$9.15 bil
Humana$650 mil$311 mil$13.5 bil$14 bil$12.4 bil$13.3 bil
UnitedHealth Group$2.3 bil$1.8 bil$50.1 bil7/7% incr over 2016$46.3 bil$43.3 bil

For additional information on Health insurers’ profitability in Q2 2017, see the following links: