Humana ended the first quarter of 2022 with $930-million in earnings, a 12% increase from the prior-year period, the health insurance company announced Wednesday.
Revenue rose 16% during the first three months of the year to $24 billion, compared to $20.7 billion during the first quarter of 2021, the company disclosed.
Medicare Advantage membership increased 5.2% to 5.1 million during the quarter. The company, the second-largest Medicare Advantage carrier, projects its Medicare Advantage rolls will grow by 150,000 to 200,000 this year.
Humana attributed the overall financial performance to lower administrative expenses and a strong showing from its pharmacy business driven partly by higher demand for mail-order prescriptions.
“We’re also making strong progress in our plans for significantly improving Medicare Advantage membership growth in 2023,” President and CEO Bruce Broussard said in a news release.
Humana is moving forward with its plan to invest $1 billion into its Medicare Advantage business, executives said during an earnings call Wednesday. The company unveiled that strategy when it reported its 2021 earnings in February.
“The $1 billion value creation initiative we introduced last quarter is developing as expected, creating capacity to further enhance our Medicare offerings and expand our healthcare services capabilities,” Broussard said in the release.
Humana plans to complete its $2.8 billion sale of 60% of its Kindred at Home hospice, palliative care, community services and personal care divisions to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice by August, Broussard said during the call.