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 The largest U.S. health insurer said that it was booking $200
million in losses in the second quarter to cover
higher-than-anticipated use of medical services by customers this
year. UnitedHealth and other insurers have blamed those costs for
their losses from the exchange business.
The company said it expected the program, often called Obamacare, to
reduce 2016 earnings by about $850 million, up from $475 million in
2015.
Next year, it will exit most of the two dozen states where it sells
individual insurance on the exchanges but still has plans to sell in
Nevada, New York and Virginia.
"We do not expect any meaningful financial exposure on 2017 business
from the three or fewer exchange markets where we currently plan to
remain," Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley said on a
conference call with analysts to discuss second-quarter financial
results.
Individual exchange customers this year have more severe chronic
conditions, such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
and HIV, and attrition has been lower than expected, UnitedHealth
said. It expects to end 2016 with 750,000 exchange members.
The company said its other businesses, including pharmacy benefit
management and the technology and consulting divisions, were strong,
and it reported higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for the
second quarter.
UnitedHealth, which also sells employer-based insurance as well as
Medicare and Medicaid, raised the low end of its full-year profit
outlook to $7.80 per share from $7.75 and kept the high end at
$7.95.
Shares of UnitedHealth were up 0.5 percent at $141.42. It is the
only large insurer not involved in any of the major consolidation
deals under review by antitrust regulators.
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Other insurers were off slightly on the announcement but lost ground
after a report that antitrust regulators were planning to block
their deals. Aetna Inc was off 3.6 percent at $114.90, while Anthem
Inc fell 2.9 percent to $131.11. Cigna Corp was down 2.3 percent at
$130.02 and Humana Inc gave up 5.3 percent to $151.10.
Mizuho analyst Sheryl Skolnick said UnitedHealth's Obamacare
business could further weigh on 2016 profit, given that more members
have stayed on than expected and will have higher expenses during
the second half.
"They have tried as much as they can... to take as much of the
losses as they can," Skolnick said.
Revenue from the company's Optum business, which manages drug
benefits and offers healthcare data analytics services, rose 51.5
percent to $20.6 billion from a year earlier.
Net earnings rose to $1.75 billion, or $1.81 per share, from $1.59
billion, or $1.64 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Amrutha Penumudi in
Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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