Medicare Advantage Enrollment Is Booming: Anthem

Executives at Anthem Inc. say the latest Medicare plan annual enrollment period was great.

Medicare Advantage program enrollment increased to 1.2 million at the end of 2019, up 21% from the total at the end of 2018.

“Our momentum is carrying over into 2020,” Anthem Chief Executive Officer Gail Boudreaux said Thursday, during a conference call with securities analysts. “We saw solid growth during the annual enrollment period. We expect our membership growth rate to continue to lead  the industry for the fourth year in a row.”

Resources

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Fast Search compan,y filing search tool is available here. Enter a company’s stock symbol (such as, ANTM, for Anthem) in the search form to see the official earnings filings.
• A link to an article about Medicare Advantage plan enrollment is available here.

Anthem is generating strong Medicare Advantage plan sales because the company has strong brand recognition and strong supplemental products, Boudreaux said.

Anthem Inc. is a giant, Indianapolis-based carrier that holds the Blue Cross license, the Blue Shield license, or both, in many in states, including California and New York state.

The Medicare Advantage program gives commercial carriers a chance to sell plans that serve as an alternative to use of what Medicare program managers call Original Medicare. The annual enrollment period for Medicare Advantage plans, and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

Flu

John Gallina, Anthem’s chief financial officer, said during the call that Anthem’s medical loss ratio, or ratio of benefits paid to revenue, has been at the high end of what the company had projected.

“The flu season started earlier than normal, resulting in more flu costs than expected in the fourth quarter,” Gallina said.