LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A downturn in Humana Inc.'s second-quarter results and net income forecast for the year did not cause skittishness among industry analysts, but they sounded concerns about the health insurer's higher costs and margins from its key Medicare Advantage business.

Posting its earnings a week early, Humana on Monday pointed to higher Medicare Advantage costs and increased health care use by its plan members for a 23 percent drop in its second-quarter net income.

Jefferies analyst David Windley, in a note to investors, pointed to Humana's reliance on its Medicare Advantage business as an ongoing plus because "member growth opportunities are more robust." Medicare Advantage plans offer privately run, government-subsidized comprehensive health insurance for seniors with extras like vision or dental coverage in addition to basic Medicare coverage.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.