Profitability was down for most of the leading health plans in the U.S. in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 compared to the same period a year ago, according to an analysis by Mark Farrah Associates.
Here are eight additional findings from the report.
1. The analysis assessed first quarter enrollment and profitability for the following health insurers: Aetna, Cigna, Health Care Service Corporation, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealth Group and Anthem.
2. Total membership for the top seven health plans increased by 6.4 million, or 4.6 percent, in the first quarter of FY 2015 compared to the year prior.
3. Anthem reported the most substantial gains year-over-year with an increase of 1.6 million medical members.
4. Profitability was down for the majority of the seven plans analyzed. However, when examining four of the top plans — Aetna, Anthem, Kaiser and United Healthcare — the results were split.
5. Aetna reported a profit margin of 5.3 percent for the first quarter of FY 2015, down slightly from a profit margin of 5.4 percent in the same period of 2014.
6. Kaiser reported a profit margin of 6.5 percent for the first quarter of FY 2015, down from a profit margin of 8 percent in the same period of last year.
7. UnitedHealthcare's profit margin increased to 5.8 percent in the first quarter of FY 2015, up from a profit margin of 4.8 percent in the comparable period of the year prior. "The increase was due to a combination of strong growth across the business along with improved medical cost management and increased productivity," the report states.
8. Anthem's profit margin increased to 4.5 percent in the first quarter of FY 2015, up from a profit margin of 3.9 percent in the same period of 2014. The report attributed the increase to the company's higher operating revenues in its government business segment and lower benefit costs in its commercial and specialty business segments.
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