Insurer WellPoint's 4Q profit drops 68 percent

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2014/01/29/3296641/insurer-wellpoints-4q-profit-drops.html



Insurer WellPoint's 4Q profit drops 68 percent
By TOM MURPHY
AP Business Writer
January 29, 2014 Updated 9 minutes ago

INDIANAPOLIS — WellPoint's fourth-quarter earnings tumbled 68 percent, as customers of the nation's second largest health insurer raced to use their coverage last fall before it became cancelled under the health care overhaul.

The Indianapolis company said Wednesday that its medical expenses spiked 18 percent to $14.58 billion due in part to higher use of individual policies in advance of the overhaul's coverage expansions, which unfolded this year.

Insurers typically see a rise in use at the end of each year as patients pay up their deductible, or the out of pocket cost before most coverage starts, and then use their coverage before that deductible renews in the new year. But WellPoint said it also saw a jump in use from patients who wanted to take advantage of their policies while they still had them.

At least 4.7 million customers nationwide received notices from their insurers last fall that their plans were being canceled because they didn't meet coverage requirements established under the overhaul, the federal law that aims to cover millions of uninsured people. The actual number is likely much higher because officials in nearly 20 states said they were unable to provide information on cancellation notices or were not tracking it.

[LakeVermilion]

1. On the other hand, its still profit.