Elevance Health reported a second quarter profit of more than $1.8 billion as the health insurer added health plan members and grew its Carelon health services business.
Elevance, which operates an array of government and commercial health insurance including Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, Wednesday reported second quarter profits increased 13% to $1.85 billion compared to $1.63 billion in the year-ago quarter. Revenue jumped 13% to $43.67 billion.
Elevance’s membership grew by 938,000, or 2%, to 48 million as of June 30, 2023 compared to a year ago. The growth was “driven primarily by growth in Medicaid, BlueCard, ACA health plan, and Medicare Advantage members, partially offset by attrition in our Employer Group risk-based business,” Elevance Health said in its second quarter earnings report released Wednesday.
Elevance’s profits and continued growth are figured in the company’s forecast for increased profits with adjusted net income now expected to be “greater than $32.85 per share.” That is more than an earlier forecast for adjusted net income for the company of “greater than $32.70” per share.
“Our solid execution and continued progress of our strategy to become a lifetime trusted health partner resulted in strong second quarter and first half results,” said Gail K. Boudreaux, President and CEO. “Our focused efforts to optimize our mature businesses, invest in high-growth opportunities, and accelerate our growth through Carelon to meet the whole health needs of consumers positions us well for the rest of 2023 and beyond.”
Carelon, which include’s the company’s pharmacy benefit management company (PBM) CarelonRx and other health services, reported an “operating gain” of $632 million in the second quarter of 2023, “an increase of $40 million from $592 million in the second quarter of 2022,” Elevance Health said in its report. “The increase was primarily driven by improved performance in our medical management business and the expansion of our post-acute care services, partially offset by higher medical cost trends and the non-recurrence of an out of period favorable adjustment in the second quarter of 2022 in CarelonRx,” the company said.
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