The payer giant posted $91.9 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2023, up 15% year-over-year.
The nation's largest Medicare Advantage (MA) insurer doesn't expect its growth in the sector to slow down amid risk adjustment changes.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty affirmed the payer's outlook in an investor call on the same day the company announced significant gains in its first quarter earnings report.
Witty acknowledged CMS' final decision to phase in the risk adjustment changes over the next three years gives UnitedHealth Group time to adjust, both as a business and for its beneficiaries. CMS said MA plans will see an average payment increase of 3..32% due to the phase-in, instead of the 1.03% in the advance notice.
"While we remain concerned about some of the potential unintended consequences of the changes of the risk adjustment model, particularly around adequate diagnosis and support for people with diabetes, complex behavioral needs and more, we do appreciate CMS' decision to phase-in the changes," Witty said.
MA experienced record enrollment for the 2023 plan year and UnitedHealth Group accounted for nearly two in three new enrollees (44%) by for-profit insurers, according to analysis by The Chartis Group.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson said the payer feels good about its market position and intends to grow again in 2024.
"We expect the marketplace to continue to grow in 2024. And we continue to lead with the strong momentum that we have demonstrated for many years now," Thompson said. "So, we are obviously in the middle of our benefit planning, but I can just share with you that we are encouraged and optimistic."
For the first quarter of 2023, UnitedHealth Group raked in $91.9 billion to achieve 15% year-over-year growth over the $80.1 billion from 2022, the company's earnings report stated.
The strong performance was driven by double-digit growth by both its health services business Optum and its insurer arm UnitedHealthcare.
Optum's first quarter revenues shot up 25% to $54.1 billion, while operating earnings climbed 19% to $3.7 billion.
For UnitedHealthcare, revenue increased 13% to $70.5 billion and operating earnings grew 14% to $4.3 billion.
The payer's MA member base, meanwhile, increased from 6.9 million to 7.5 million year over year.
Jay Asser is the contributing editor for strategy at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Leadership at UnitedHealth Group told investors that more Medicare Advantage growth is on the way, despite upcoming changes to the risk adjustment model.
Optum and UnitedHealthcare both exhibited double-digit growth to spur robust first-quarter earnings for the company.