Several Blue Cross Blue Shield companies operated on thinner margins in 2022 than in previous years, as the waning COVID-19 pandemic drove up medical utilization and costs.
Here are eight BCBS financial reports Becker's has covered since March 2:
- Health Care Service Corporation, the parent company of BCBS Illinois, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Montana, posted a net income of nearly $1.5 billion in 2022.
- Blue Shield of California lost $910 million in 2022 as medical costs rose, according to the company's annual report.
- Independence Blue Cross posted $156 million in net income in 2022. The payer's operating margins declined in 2022, driven by increased utilization as more members received routine care as the pandemic waned.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota posted an operating income of $187 million in 2022, bringing in $14.1 billion in revenue during the year.
- The four Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates owned by Regence (Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah) collectively reported more than $268 million in net income for 2022.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina reported a net income of $36 million in 2022, for a thin net operating margin of .33 percent.
- Excellus BlueCross BlueShield posted $58.9 million in profits in 2022, a 50 percent decline in net income from 2021.
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan reported a $777 million loss for 2022, driven in part by the ongoing cost of the COVID-19 pandemic and pricing pressures in Medicare Advantage.