Humana released its second-quarter earnings results July 28 on the tails of payers still reporting a dropoff in profits.
Here are seven things to know:
1. At the front of Humana's earnings report is a 67.8 percent dip in second-quarter profits, from $1.83 billion in 2020 to $588 million in 2021.
2. However, revenue increased to $20.6 billion, an 8.2 percent increase over Humana's 2020 second-quarter numbers.
3. Humana attributed the revenue growth to membership growth among Medicare Advantage plans and higher premiums.
4. Expenses similarly increased, with a 16.6 percent increase in operating expenses to $19.4 billion.
5. Individual Medicare Advantage membership grew by over 464,000 to 4.3 million total members — a 12 percent increase over last year's second-quarter numbers.
6. Humana saw decreases in group Medicare Advantage (down 9 percent) and stand-alone prescription drug plan membership (down 6 percent). The insurer said its Walmart Value plan not being a low-cost leader in 2021 resulted in much of the PDP membership loss.
7. The insurer's largest growth was a 27 percent increase in state-based or miscellaneous contracts, which grew to over 877,000 members.
Humana's reported earnings per share of $6.89 surpassed analyst expectations that it would fal at $6.82.