The Indianapolis-based insurer, which is locked in a battle to acquire rival Cigna Corp., on Wednesday reported net income of $1.0 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 43.7% over the same time last year.
Earlier this week, St. Louis-based pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts announced that Anthem will not renew its long-term contract with the PBM after the end of 2019.
While the decision is a blow to Express Scripts, it gives Anthem the potential to find a better PBM deal and save move on pharmacy costs.
Anthem’s revenue grew 11% to $22.5 billion over the same period a year ago. Its operating revenue grew 9.9% to $22.3 billion.
Premium rate increases and higher enrollment in Medicaid, Medicare, and local group businesses drove revenue growth.
Anthem’s membership totaled 40.6 million members at March 31, 2.6% from 39.6 million at the same time last year. Medicaid membership grew the fastest, with 6.6 million members, up 8.4% over 2016.
Anthem also said its medical loss ratio was 83.7% in the first quarter, up from 81.8% at the same time last year. The uptick was driven by the one-year delay of the health insurance tax in 2017 and higher medical costs in the Medicaid business.
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Shelby Livingston is an insurance reporter. Before joining Modern Healthcare in 2016, she covered employee benefits at Business Insurance magazine. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and a bachelor’s in English from Clemson University.