Health Plan Weekly
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In Strong Fourth Quarter, Elevance Avoids Utilization Spike
Elevance Health, Inc. reported stronger results for its 2023 fourth quarter earnings than its other publicly traded managed care peers so far, driven by relatively low utilization across its diverse mix of business lines. The results received positive reviews from Wall Street analysts, who contrasted the strong results with other carriers’ struggles.
Elevance, the for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield affiliate formerly known as Anthem, experienced lower care utilization than other managed care heavyweights like UnitedHealth Group and Humana Inc. — something that analysts were quick to note in their coverage of Elevance’s results. Elevance has substantive business in commercial insurance, Medicare and Medicaid.
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UnitedHealth Aims to Take ‘Guess Work’ Out of Assessing Health, Well-Being Offerings
Numerous companies have developed health and well-being apps and programs, making it difficult sometimes for companies to assess them and choose which ones to offer their employees. With this problem in mind, UnitedHealthcare recently rolled out UHC Hub, a platform that helps self-insured employers select and purchase health and well-being programs.
The vendors participating in the UHC Hub include Teladoc Health, a leading telehealth company; Noom, a subscription-based app for weight management and healthier living; and Cleo, a company that offers support for parents and caregiving.
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National Health Care Spending Growth Returned to Pre-COVID Levels in 2022
Total U.S. health care spending increased by 4.1% in 2022, hitting $4.5 trillion, according to CMS. The growth rate appeared to return to the average annual rate of the 2010s, while the share of the gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to health care (17.3%) also fell to pre-pandemic levels.
The rise in overall health care expenditures reflected faster growth in spending for administration costs, retail prescription drugs and long-term services from 2021 to 2022, which was offset by a decline in federal public health spending, according to an analysis by KFF. As the pandemic entered its third year, public health spending dropped by $33 billion compared to 2020.
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News Briefs: CMS Appeals to Public for More Medicare Advantage Data
The Biden administration on Jan. 25 released a Request for Information to seek feedback about the best way to enhance Medicare Advantage data capabilities and increase public transparency. In a press release, HHS pointedly noted that “transparency is especially important now that MA has grown to over 50% of Medicare enrollment, and the government is expected to pay MA health insurance companies over $7 trillion over the next decade.” To that end, the agency said it’s seeking data-related input on aspects of the MA program including access to care, prior authorization, provider directories and networks, supplemental benefits, marketing; care quality and outcomes, value-based care arrangements and equity, and “healthy competition in the market, including the effects of vertical integration and how that affects payment.”
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Utilization Angst Gives Humana, UnitedHealth a Tough Start to 2024
If the market reactions to a Humana Inc. regulatory filing and to UnitedHealth Group’s latest earnings report are any indication, concerns about elevated care utilization that cropped up in the second half of 2023 have followed health insurers into the new year.
While Humana had already expected that heightened medical care use among its senior enrollees would continue through the rest of 2023, “actual fourth quarter results reflect an additional increase in Medicare Advantage medical cost trends,” the company said in a Jan. 18 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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