Revenue grows for publicly traded hospitals, insurers
among some of the Top line performance was strong for-profit hospital companies and insurers reporting earnings for the quarter ended June 30, while HCA Healthcare got a big boost from changes in the tax law for the first six months of the year.
HCA Healthcare Nashville
THE NUMBERS
$11.5 billion Revenue, up 7.4%
$966 million Net income, up 21.5%
$2.2 billion Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, up 6.6%
$192 million Benefit from changes in the tax law for the six months ended June 30
2.7% Increase in same-facility admissions
3.6% Increase in same-facility revenue per equivalent admission
TAKEAWAY Competition is growing among emergency and urgent-care providers in some of HCA’s markets, said Sam Hazen, the company’s chief operating officer. It’s possible that HCA, which operates 178 hospitals, is losing emergency room patients to its own outpatient facilities, he said.
UnitedHealth Group | Minnetonka, Minn.
THE NUMBERS
$56.1 billion Revenue, up 12.1%
$3 billion Net earnings, up 28.1%
5.2% Net margin, up 60 basis points
$18.9 billion Revenue: Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans, up 12.6%
$24.7 billion Revenue, Upturn, up 9.1%
7.5% Operating margin, Upturn, up 80 basis points
TAKEAWAY UnitedHealth Group reported higher revenue and profit as it promoted some of its consumer-friendly efforts. Officials touted Optum’s Rally Health digital wellness platform, which incentivizes workers in employersponsored health plans to meet health goals.
Centene Corp. | St. Louis
THE NUMBERS
$14.2 billion Total revenue, up 18.6%
$299 million Net income, up 18.7%
$13.7 billion Operating expenses, up 18.9%
7.2 million Medicaid membership
2.1 million Commercial membership
1.5 million ACA exchange membership
TAKEAWAY The St. Louis-based insurer, which has emerged recently as the dominant player on the exchanges, has been on a roll in securing new Medicaid contracts and expanding existing ones. Centene’s experience managing care for vulnerable Medicaid beneficiaries set it up for success on the ACA exchanges. While many other insurers have limited their participation or exited the exchanges because of losses and uncertainty over the marketplace’s ability to stabilize, Centene has expanded its footprint and now sells exchange plans in 16 states.
Anthem | Indianapolis
THE NUMBERS
$22.9 billion Total revenue, up 2.4%
$1.1 billion Net income, up 23.2%
6.4 million Medicaid membership, down 2.1%
1.7 million Medicare membership, up 17.1%
712 million Individual membership, down 60%
83.4% Benefit expense ratio, down 2.7 percentage points
TAKEAWAY National health insurer Anthem reported higher profit in the second quarter of 2018 after raising premiums and keeping medical costs in check. The insurer also grew membership in Medicare Advantage—a key focus for the company—while recording fewer customers enrolled in individual ACA plans and Medicaid.