Obamacare Helps Cigna Weather Pandemic

Cigna made $1.5 billion within the second quarter as enrollment within the well being insurer’s particular person enterprise underneath the Reasonably priced Care Act grew almost 25% over final 12 months.

Cigna Thursday reported web earnings of $1.5 billion, or $4.25 per share within the second quarter ended June 30. That compares to $1.8 billion, or $4.73 per share, within the second quarter of 2020 when Cigna, like different well being insurers, noticed huge earnings on account of clients not searching for medical care therapy firstly of the pandemic when states applied stay-at-home orders for a number of weeks.

Complete revenues rose 10% to $43.1 billion within the second quarter in comparison with $39.3 billion within the year-ago interval. Of that, income from U.S. medical plans rose 13% to $10.5 billion and Cigna’s Evernorth, which incorporates the pharmacy profit administration firm Cigna purchased with its 2018 acquisition of Specific Scripts, grew its revenues 14% to $32.6 billion.

Medical health insurance corporations like Cigna are having good years promoting particular person plans underneath the ACA often known as Obamacare due to a particular open enrollment interval put in place by the Biden administration. The Biden administration mentioned final month that “greater than 2 million folks” have signed up for protection through the healthcare.gov website, often known as the federal healthcare trade or market as insurers prefer to name it.

Cigna’s particular person enterprise, which incorporates Obamacare, was up 24% to 348,000 in comparison with 280,000 within the year-ago interval and was up 35% from 258,000 firstly of the 12 months, the company’s earnings report showed.

“We’ve some engaging development in that enterprise,” Cigna chief government David Cordani advised analysts Thursday morning on a name to debate second earnings, attributing the uptick in particular person enrollment to the particular enrollment interval.

“The entire medical buyer base^{at second quarter 2021 was 17 million, a rise of 279,000 clients 12 months so far, pushed by web development in U.S. Industrial, U.S. Authorities, and Worldwide Markets,” Cigna mentioned in reporting its second quarter earnings. Specifically, Cigna’s second quarter U.S. medical revenues had been up 13% in contrast with the year-ago interval, “reflecting buyer development in Medicare Benefit and the Particular person enterprise, premium will increase” and different elements of its medical enterprise, the corporate mentioned.}