Humana saw its fourth quarter net income swing into the black in 2017, as the insurer boosted its revenue and lowered expenses.
Here are three things to know about Humana's fourth quarter results.
1. Humana's fourth quarter revenue rose 2.4 percent to $13.2 billion, compared to $12.9 billion recorded during the same period a year prior. The payer attributed the uptick to an increase in total premiums, mainly from growing its Medicare Advantage membership, and increased earnings from its group and specialty segment.
2. Humana saw expenses decline 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, to $12.6 billion. That's down from $13.3 billion reported in the same period in 2016. The insurer wrote off about $583 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 associated with the ACA's risk corridors program.
3. The insurer ended the fourth quarter of 2017 with $184 million in net income, turning around a $401 million net loss reported in the fourth quarter of 2016. For the year ended Dec. 31, Humana posted full-year net income of $2.4 billion, well above the net income of $614 million it achieved in 2016.