Maryland’s CareFirst Reports Q2 Profits Up 31.9% After Dropping Medicare, Medicaid Managed Care Beneficiaries
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Maryland's largest insurer, on Aug. 15 announced that its second quarter profits "jumped" 31.9% over the same period last year, an increase the company attributed largely to its exit from the Medicare+Choice and Medicaid managed care business, the Baltimore Sun reports. CareFirst reported operating profit of $22.2 million in the second quarter, up from $16.8 million during the same period last year. The insurer's Medicare and Medicaid managed care business accounted for $3.8 million in losses during the second quarter last year. Second quarter revenue was $1.48 billion this year, a 10.2% increase from the same period last year. The Sun reports that membership, at about 2.9 million members, remained stable, with the loss of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries offset by a 4.4% increase in commercial enrollment. CareFirst Executive Vice President and CFO G. Mark Chaney said the company was "generally pleased" with its second quarter performance, but he added that the insurer is "concerned" with its 1.66% operating margin as "recent hospital rate increases and other trends" accelerate medical cost inflation (Salganik, Baltimore Sun, 8/16).
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