Top Plans See Enrollment Declines During 1Q09 According to Mark Farrah Associates

 

Thursday, Jul 30,2009, 9:44:51 AM   Click:

Kennebunk, Maine - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The nation leading health insurers have experienced an overall decrease of 78,000 members between December 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009 according to the latest study by Mark Farrah Associates. Declining commercial enrollment was offset mainly by the products offered to the elderly such as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement options. Terms of total health enrollment growth slowed in most of 2008 and appears to have spent a halt for a large number of shots from above first quarter 2009.

Mark Farrah Associates, a leading provider of market data and solutions, has - for eight major health insurers in the United States - aggregate membership was down 133.1 to 133.2 million members From million members at end 2008. For these large insurers combined Supplement and Medicare Advantage enrollment increased by 313,000 members between 4Q08 and 1Q09 offset much of the decline of 403,000 members in the commercial sector.

Five of the leading health insurers lost membership during the first quarter. However, WellPoint, Health Net and Kaiser were the only organizations among top competitors that saw declines in medical membership between March 31, 2008 and March 31, 2009. Year-over-year, total membership for the eight leading plans increased by 2.2 million, from 130.9 million in 1Q08 to 133.1 million for 1Q09.


In the latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, MFA reviewed enrollment and financial trends among eight top health insurers: Aetna, CIGNA, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), Health Net, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint. These eight health plans cover 58% of the total insured population in the nation, and their experience may be a bellwether for the rest of the industry. Membership data, financial statistics and observations were gleaned from the July 2009 Health Insurer Insightâ„¢ series.

To read the full text of Top Plans Experience Enrollment Declines During 1Q09, visit the Healthcare Business Strategy library on Mark Farrah Associates' website www.markfarrah.com.

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 Medicare Business Onlineâ„¢, the Health Coverage Portalâ„¢, Health Insurer Insightsâ„¢ and Health Plans USAâ„¢.





Mark Farrah Associates

Debra Donahue, 207-985-8484

Source: Mark Farrah Associates