Elevance Health Reports Strong Third Quarter Results

Elevance Health, a prominent health insurer and healthcare-services provider, has announced impressive financial results for the third quarter. The company reported a profit of $1.29 billion, or $5.45 per share, compared to $1.6 billion, or $6.62 per share, during the same period last year.

When excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings reached $8.99 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $8.45 per share. Furthermore, quarterly revenue experienced a 7.2% increase to $42.85 billion, exceeding analyst forecasts of $42.69 billion.

The growth in Elevance Health's premium revenue from the health benefits business and higher pharmacy product revenue from CarelonRx contributed significantly to the overall revenue increase. This growth was partially fueled by the company's recent acquisition of BioPlus in the first quarter of 2023. Premiums rose by 4.6% to $35.26 billion during the quarter.

Elevance Health's membership also saw a positive trend, reaching 47.3 million. This increase was supported by the growth in BlueCard, Affordable Care Act health plans, and Medicare Advantage membership. However, attrition occurred in Medicaid due to eligibility redeterminations resuming, the entrance of a new competitor into one of its state Medicaid programs, and a decline in its employer group risk-based business.

Notably, Elevance Health managed to improve its benefit expense ratio, a key measure indicating the proportion of premiums paid out in healthcare costs. The ratio saw a 40 basis point improvement to 86.8%, primarily due to premium rate adjustments.

Overall, these strong financial results demonstrate Elevance Health's continued success and growth in the health insurance and healthcare-services sector.