Earnings Roundup: Scottish Re, Health Net

In other earning news:

- Health Net Inc., Los Angeles, is reporting $72 million in net income for the third quarter on $2.9 billion in revenue, up from a $2.2 million net loss on $2.8 billion in revenue for the third quarter of 2003.

The managed care company ended the quarter providing or administering health coverage for 3.7 million commercial, Medicare and Medicaid health plan members, compared with 3.9 million members a year earlier.

Membership in Health Net’s TriCare operation, which administers health coverage for military personnel, dependents and retirees, increased to 3.6 million, from 1.5 million, as a result of a restructuring of the program.

Commercial membership dropped to 2.7 million, from 2.8 million, because Health Net is trying to focus more on charging prices that are high enough to cover claims costs, according to Buddy Piszel, the company’s chief financial officer.

“This disciplined pricing has resulted in enrollment losses in California that are greater than we planned,” Piszel says. “However, bolstering margin even at the expense of enrollment losses is the right thing to do.”