April 30 (Bloomberg) — WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, increased its profit forecast after Obamacare enrollments boosted quarterly results.
The people signing up are younger than earlier anticipated, making the Indianapolis-based company's earlier prediction of "double-digit" rate increases next year less likely. Full-year net income is now expected to be more than $8.50 a share, WellPoint said in a statement today.
First-quarter medical enrollment rose by 1.3 million from the prior three-month period as WellPoint benefited from new customers through the exchanges created by Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. WellPoint has the highest share of enrollments of insurers through Obamacare, saying today that it has signed up 400,000 on government exchanges through Feb. 14.
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