Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina achieved higher-than-anticipated net income for fiscal year 2017.
Here are four things to know about the insurer's 2017 results.
1. After years of losing money following the ACA's rollout, BCBSNC reported a net income of $734 million in 2017.
2. BCBSNC attributed the positive gains to lower medical claims than expected. The insurer also absorbed about 200,000 members in 2017 after UnitedHealthcare and Aetna left North Carolina's individual marketplace. These new members were healthier than BCBSNC projected.
3. From 2013 to 2017, the company's average net income margin was 2.2 percent due to steep losses in previous years and gains in 2017. BCBSNC said these changes "are evidence of volatility in the market, a trend that will likely continue as a result of actions taken in Washington in 2017 and 2018."
4. Because of Republicans' recent tax overhaul, BCBSNC said it will pass $102 million it saved in federal taxes to customers by offsetting premium increases for members renewing policies beginning in the fall of 2018.
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