STAT+: Elevance plots a Medicaid retreat as costs remain high
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- Elevance Health announced plans to further shrink its Medicaid portfolio over the next 12 to 18 months during its Q2 earnings call (quarter ended June 30), despite raising its profit outlook and beating analyst expectations for profit and revenue.
- The company posted approximately $50 billion in Q2 revenue and $1.5 billion in shareholder profit, with the latter down 16% year-over-year.
- Elevance Health will exit Medicaid markets it deems unsustainable, following its recent withdrawal from Washington, D.C., though it declined to specify which markets are next.
- The Medicaid retreat coincides with states rolling out new requirements for the program that covers low-income Americans.
- Several analysts pressed for details on the call, but the company provided limited specifics about which markets or how many enrollees would be affected.
Why it matters: Elevance Health — the country's second-biggest health insurer — is shrinking its Medicaid footprint over 12 to 18 months, which means fewer insurer options for low-income enrollees in affected states. The pullback coincides with new state Medicaid requirements and follows Elevance's recent exit from Washington, D.C., even as the company posted $50 billion in quarterly revenue.
