Anthem posted strong operating results in the third quarter of 2018.
Here are four things to know from the health insurer's results:
1. Anthem's operating revenue grew 4 percent in the third quarter of this year to $23 billion, up from $22.1 billion in the same period a year prior. The health insurer said premium increases and the return of the health insurance tax in 2018 positively affected operating revenue, as did growth in its Medicare business.
2. Anthem's reduced footprint in the individual ACA exchanges, local group and Medicaid plans contributed to a year-over-year decline in membership in the third quarter of this year compared to the same three months in 2017. Anthem lost 753,000 members year over year and now has 39.5 million members. At the same time, Anthem grew its Medicare membership year over year by 267,000 members in the third quarter of this year through acquisitions and organic growth.
3. Anthem trimmed its medical loss ratio, or the amount the health insurer pays toward medical care versus overhead costs, to 84.8 percent in the third quarter of this year. That's down from 87 percent in the same period last year. Lower taxes and better medical cost performance in its commercial and specialty insurance lines contributed to the improvement.
4. Including expenses and nonoperating gains, Anthem ended the third quarter of 2018 with $960 million in net income, up 29 percent from $747 million recorded in the same period last year.