Dive Brief:
- UnitedHealth Group said it will participate in health insurance exchanges in as many as 24 states for 2015, a sizeable expansion of its footprint. The nation's largest health insurer made the announcement July 17 during a second-quarter 2014 earnings call, but company executives did not offer specifics to investors.
- UnitedHealth said its aggressive expansion of exchange plan offerings for 2015 is coming after its close examination of exchanges' first year of operation under the Affordable Care Act, and its review of competitors' product pricing.
- The company reported earning $1.4 billion in the three months ended June 30.
Dive Insight:
It may be an understatement to say that UnitedHealth has taken a cautious approach to health insurance exchanges, participating in only five states' exchanges this year. Yesterday UnitedHealth CEO Stephen J. Hemsley continued to strike a cautionary note, describing the insurer's expansion on exchanges in 2015 and beyond as "advancing our participation in a measured manner."
During the earnings call, one United executive described the size of the overall exchange market as positive, and cited consumers’ strong interest in buying mid-level "silver" health plans. But Hemsley held back, saying that his company continues to evaluate exchanges and won't have to make final decisions until September. "We have time to see how this plays out a bit," he said.