Humana Reports $741 Million Profit And Boosts Medicare Forecast

The health insurer Humana Wednesday reported quarterly net income of more than $741 million and boosted its forecast for Medicare Advantage membership growth.

Medicare Advantage plans, which are a large share of Humana’s business, contract with the federal government to provide extra benefits and services to seniors, such as disease management and nurse help hotlines with some also offering vision, dental care and wellness programs.

Humana’s stock has been suffering after the company earlier this year reported a surprising fourth quarter loss and higher than expected medical costs from its Medicare Advantage business.

But Wednesday’s report was more positive with the company reporting net earnings again with first quarter net income of $741 million, or $6.11 per share. That compares to net income of $1.2 billion, or $9.87 per share, in the first quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, Humana’s Medicare Advantage growth story continues. Humana said it raised its “individual Medicare Advantage annual membership growth by 50,000 to now anticipate annual growth of approximately 150,000, or 2.8 percent.”

Humana ended the first quarter with 6.1 million total Medicare Advantage enrollees, which was up from 5.6 million in the first quarter of 2023. That helped total revenue jump more than 10% to $29.6 billion in the first quarter compared to $26.7 billion a year ago.