Unitedhealth Posts Strong Earnings Growth in First Quarter

April 2017 ~

UnitedHealth has released its first-quarter revenues for 2017, showing Q1 revenues of $48.7 Billion – a 9.4% Year-Over-Year increase from 2016.

According to the news release, highlights from the first quarter earning results include:

• Net earnings rose to $2.17 billion from $1.61 billion a year earlier;
• Net earnings from operations during the first quarter were $3.4 billion, compared to $3 billion during the first quarter of 2016;
• UnitedHealthcare, the health benefits arm, showed Q1 earnings from operations of $2.1 billion, compared to $1.9 billion in 2016;
• UnitedHealthcare served 8.7 million seniors with medical benefit products at first quarter end, growth of 12% year-over-year;
• Optum, the health services business, showed Q1 earnings from operations of $1.3 billion, compared to $1.1 billion year-over-year;
• Optum revenues during Q1 grew year-over-year by $1.6 billion (or 7.9%) to $21.2 billion;
  • Optum showed double-digit percent increases for every reporting segment, including Optum Rx, Optum Health and Optum Insights;
• In the first quarter of 2017, the business served 760,000 more seniors, including 675,000 through employer-sponsored group and individual Medicare Advantage products.

Excluding ACA individual market offerings, the company has grown to 2.5 million customers in the past 12 months. The insurer had decided to scale back its ACA plan offerings in 2017, down to three plan options from the 34 offered previously. The insurer reported its withdrawal from ACA individual markets, combined with the 2017 health insurance tax deferral, reduced consolidated first quarter 2017 revenues by about $1.6 billion and lowered the revenue growth rate by 4.1%, the insurer states.

“The smaller overall market size and shorter-term higher risk profile within this market segment continue to suggest we cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sustained basis,” stated UnitedHealth Group’s chief executive officer Stephen Hemsley. “Next year we will remain in only a handful of states, and we will not carry financial exposure from exchanges into 2017. We continue to remain an advocate for more stable and sustainable approaches to serving this market and those who rely on it for their care.”

Hemsley added, “Our focus on quality and consistency in everything we do for those we serve across the health system continues to strengthen our business each quarter. These efforts are driving consistent growth and strong bottom line performance across our businesses.”

Source(s): Healthcare Payer News; HealthcareDIVE;