New Report Suggests Payer Profitability During COVID-19 Pandemic

A Kaiser Family Foundation brief points to increased profitability for payers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research group noted that gross margin ratios were 16 percent higher in 2020 than the previous year. Medical loss ratios, or the proportion of premiums that insurers used to pay claims, decreased several points compared to previous years. However, additional administrative cost data is necessary to determine profitability margins.

“The researchers leveraged data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to observe the pandemic’s effects on the profitability of four health insurance markets: Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, the individual health insurance marketplace, and the fully-insured group health insurance marketplace.” Read more here.

(Source: Kelsey Waddill, Health Payer Intelligence, 5/3/21)