U.S. group health insurance member months fell 3.8% in 2023

Medical expenses for enrollees in fully insured employer-sponsored group health plans increased more than for Medicaid plan enrollees in 2023 but less than for Medicare enrollees, according to a new analysis from Mark Farrah Associates.

The health plan data firm found that medical expenses for insured group health plans increased 6.1% in 2023, to $472 per member per month.

Per-member spending increased just 4.1% for managed Medicaid plans, to $442, and 8.5% for Medicare Advantage plans, to $1,100.

The analysis did not include spending data for self-insured employer health plans.

Mark Farrah analysts found that the number of group health insurance plan enrollees fell to 44.7 million at the end of 2023, down 3.4% from the total recorded at the end of 2022.

The workers insured seem to have worked less: Group health insurance plans’ total number of member months fell 3.8%.

Premiums per member per month rose just 5%.

Executives at big health insurance companies said little about their group health plan operations during conference calls they held with securities analysts in July and early August, after they released their earnings for the quarter that ended June 30. What the executives did say about group health was generally positive.

Related: Large group health looks good in Q2: Elevance

The Mark Farrah numbers appear to show that conditions in the group health market are calm but not exciting.

The results appear in the wake of an Employee Benefit Research Institute report indicating that overall employer use of group health insurance and self-insurance held steady between 2022 and 2023.