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Health insurers have seen medical costs fluctuate through the
pandemic, with lower spending on elective medical procedures
softening the blow from higher claims related to COVID-19
testing and treatment.
Rivals UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health, formerly known as
Anthem Inc, both raised their annual profit forecast earlier
this month, citing a slow pace of normalization in demand for
these medical procedures and lower COVID costs.
Humana also reported better-than-expected second-quarter
results, partly driven by higher members in its insurance
business that offers both government-backed and commercial
health plans.
The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to
about $24.75 per share, compared with its prior projection of
$24.50.
Humana said lower medical services utilization trends and lack
of COVID-19 headwind were partly responsible for the forecast
raise. The company, however, continues to see some impact from
COVID in the rest of the year.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $8.67 per share,
beating the average estimate of $7.67 per share, according to
Refinitiv IBES data.
Total revenue was $23.72 billion, above the estimate of $23.47
billion.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru;
Editing by Maju Samuel and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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