Tampa, Fla.-based WellCare Health Plans — a private Medicare and Medicaid managed care company — posted better-than-expected profit in the first quarter of 2015 as its Medicaid membership grew, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In the latest quarter, WellCare's Medicaid health membership increased by 482,000, or 25.8 percent year-over-year, to 2.4 million members as of March 31, 2015, while its Medicare health membership as of March 31, 2015, decreased by 2.1 percent year over year to 382,000 members.
WellCare said its total membership as of March 31, 2015 increased 8.3 percent to 3.8 million compared with membership of 3.5 million as of March 31, 2014.
Overall, WellCare's net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $17.5 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, compared with $44.1 million, or $1 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2014.
The first quarter of 2014 was helped by a benefit from the company's purchase of Windsor Health Group in January 2014, according to the report.
Premium revenue in the first quarter of 2015 increased 15.6 percent compared with the first quarter of 2014.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a profit of 28 cents a share and revenue of $3.5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.
WellCare CEO Kenneth A. Burdick said, "We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter of 2015. We remain focused on delivering on our commitments in 2015 as we continue to strengthen our foundation for the future."
WellCare's earnings for the fourth quarter of 2014 were down 82 percent due to the early and more severe flu season
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