While all five giants saw revenue grow, WellPoint’s and Cigna’s profits declined compared with the fourth quarter of 2012. Four of the insurers pocketed a combined total of $2.31 billion in profit, while Humana posted a fourth-quarter loss of $30 million.
For the year ended Dec. 31, they reported $12.74 billion in profit from $313.68 billion in revenue. Cigna and WellPoint saw their 2013 profits fall compared with 2012, while the other three insurers reported a year-over-year increase in net income.
1. UnitedHealth Group’s earnings in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 increased by nearly 15 percent, from approximately $1.24 billion in 2012 to $1.43 billion in 2013. For the entire 2013 fiscal year, UnitedHealth’s earnings rose 1.8 percent to 5.63 billion.
2. Fourth-quarter net income at WellPoint plummeted 68 percent, from $464.2 million in 2012 to $148.2 million in 2013. The decline was partly driven by a $160.7 million loss on the sale of two eyewear subsidiaries, 1-800 CONTACTS and Glasses.com, as well as higher income taxes. For the full year of 2013, WellPoint reported $2.5 billion in net income, down 6.2 percent from $2.7 billion the previous year.
3. Humana posted a fourth-quarter loss of $30 million, a nearly 116 percent drop from $192 million in profit in the fourth quarter of 2012. The loss was primarily due to a $243 million charge to strengthen reserves for a block of long-term care policies the insurer no longer sells. For the year ended Dec. 31, Humana reported $1.23 billion in net income, up 0.7 percent from $1.22 billion in 2012.
4. Aetna‘s net income shot up 94 percent year-over-year, from $190.1 million in 2012 to $368.9 million in 2013. For the year ended Dec. 31, Aetna reported net income of $1.9 billion, a 15 percent increase from nearly $1.7 billion in 2012. The rise in profit was partly driven by the insurer’s acquisition of Coventry Health Care.
5. Cigna‘s fourth-quarter net income fell 1 percent, from $406 million in 2012 to $361 million in 2013. The health insurer experienced higher medical costs related to its Medicare Advantage plans. The company also reported a 9 percent year-over-year drop in net income to $1.48 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, driven by its $781 million transaction with Berkshire Hathaway to exit its reinsurance business, which it had been running in run-off mode seeking no new business since 2000.
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