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The company also reaffirmed its annual adjusted profit forecast at about $25 per share, even as rivals including UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) and Elevance Health lifted their earnings outlook last month.
Humana had also raised it forecast in September, citing no COVID-19 “headwind materializing” and lower-than-expected medical cost trends in the company’s Medicare Advantage and Medicaid businesses.
The company posted a quarterly ratio of medical expenses to premiums collected of 85.6%, compared with the average estimate of 85.69% in a Refinitiv poll of seven analysts. A lower ratio is better for a health insurer as it indicates a tight rein on costs.
The company said it expects to enroll 325,000 to 400,000 people for its Medicare Advantage business next year.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in October released its performance rating for Medicare Advantage insurance plans in 2023, where three Humana insurance plans that cover about 356,000 members received five stars.
Rivals CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) and Centene (NYSE:CNC) saw a sharp decline in ratings.
Humana said its adjusted profit for the quarter was $6.88 per share, above estimates of $6.28 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Overall adjusted revenue of $22.75 billion narrowly missed analysts’ expectations of $22.76 billion.
