Health Plan Weekly

Cigna Corp.’s ability to rein in medical costs during the second quarter of 2022 impressed equities analysts and led the health insurer on Aug. 4 to surpass the Wall Street consensus earnings per share (EPS) estimate while raising its full-year EPS outlook.

Cigna posted “the largest MLR beat among MCOs this quarter,” with its medical loss ratio of 80.7% coming in 220 basis points below the consensus estimate, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel pointed out in a note to investors. That comes after a 110 basis-point beat in the first quarter of 2022, he added.

And SVB Securities analyst Whit Mayo observed that “medical costs were well-controlled during the quarter,” with Cigna’s MLR “driving the bulk of the [company’s] outperformance.”

Although many people still associate CVS Health Corp. with its ubiquitous retail pharmacy locations, executives during the company’s second-quarter 2022 earnings call highlighted the Health Care Benefits segment — which houses legacy health insurer Aetna — as one of the firm’s strongest business assets. Meanwhile, the Rhode Island-based company said it’s planning to acquire more care-delivery assets by the end of the year.

During an Aug. 3 conference call to discuss quarterly financial results, CEO Karen Lynch touted the Health Care Benefits segment’s “strong quarter,” noting that the business line saw revenue growth of nearly 11% compared to the prior-year period. The firm’s medical loss ratio (MLR) of 82.9% also improved by 120 basis points year over year, “reflecting medical cost trends that remain modestly favorable to our pricing assumptions,” according to Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin.

Molina Healthcare, Inc. posted solid results in the second quarter of 2022, earning favorable reviews from Wall Street despite posting a high medical loss ratio (MLR). Executives from the Medicaid- and marketplace-focused carrier touted a recent streak of acquisitions — and teased more transactions and new contract awards.

Total revenues for the second quarter of 2022 amounted to $8.05 billion, up from $6.8 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Profits also increased, with Molina posting $266 million in net income for the quarter with an after-tax margin of 3.3%, up from $199 million and a 2.9% margin in the second quarter of 2021. According to Barclays analyst Steve Valiquette, those results beat Wall Street’s projected margin of 1.2%. Earnings per share (EPS) were $4.55, up from $3.40 in the second quarter of 2021.

The national uninsured rate reached an all-time low of 8% in the first quarter of 2022, according to new data from the HHS’s National Health Interview Survey. Since 2020, about 5.2 million people have gained coverage, which the report attributed to enhanced marketplace subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act, the suspension of Medicaid redeterminations during the COVID-19 public health emergency, several recent state Medicaid expansions and “substantial enrollment outreach” by the Biden administration in 2021 and 2022.

If the 12 holdout states expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, 3.7 million fewer people would be uninsured next year. That’s according to a new analysis from the Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which noted that “Black individuals, young adults, and women —particularly women of reproductive age — would realize the largest coverage gains if the 12 states expanded eligibility.” Fiscally speaking, extending Medicaid expansion nationwide would increase federal spending by $34.5 billion in 2023, but that would be partially offset by $2.6 billion less government spending on uncompensated care.