Profit Margins of Top Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans Assessed by Mark Farrah Associates

MCMURRAY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) organizations’ combined membership comprised 49% of total U.S. commercial enrollment, or over 95 million members nationwide as of September 30, 2021, based on statutory reporting. The leading BCBS affiliated insurers with over $15 billion in revenue as of September 30, 2021, include: Anthem Inc., Health Care Service Corp. (HCSC), Independence Blue Cross, Guidewell Mutual Holding Group (Florida Blues), and Blue Shield of California. With diversified product portfolios, Blues organizations represent many aspects of the health insurance industry. In its latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), www.markfarrah.com, analyzed profit margins of BCBS plans, comparing year-to-date performance from third quarter 2018 to third quarter 2021.

Some highlights include:

• Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Total Blues plans’ profit margins declined from 6.4% to 5.9%, based on cumulative results through September 30, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
• With more than 50% of its enrollment through Medicaid plans in eight states, Independence Blue Cross, experienced consistent margins over the four-year period.
• Primarily due to the recognition of the net premium impact of the recovered risk corridor payments, HCSC experienced the most dramatic variations in profit margins from 3Q18 to 3Q21.

To read the FREE full text of "Profit Margin Changes for Leading Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans", visit the Analysis Briefs library on Mark Farrah Associates' website.

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

MFA is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Committed to simplifying analysis of health insurance business, our products include: Health Coverage Portal™, Medicare Business Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, County Health Coverage™, Health Plans USA™ and 5500 Employer Health ^Plus. Follow us on LinkedIn!