Humana Posts Revenues of $19B, Pretax Loss of $458 in Q4 2020

Bruce Broussard, CEO of the Louisville-based insurer, said the pandemic highlighted the value of the company's Medicare Advantage program.

Humana Inc. reported quarterly GAAP revenues eclipsing $19 billion in Q4 2020, though the insurer also posted a pretax loss of $458 million, according to the company's latest earnings report released Wednesday morning.

For the quarter, Humana reported a loss per diluted common share (EPS) of $2.07 on a GAAP basis and $2.30 on an adjusted basis. Meanwhile, for the full year, Humana reported an EPS of $25.31 on a GAAP basis and $18.75 on an adjusted basis.

While Humana's Retail segment saw revenues rise to just over $16.8 billion during the quarter, it also produced losses of more than $210 million on both a GAAP and adjusted basis.

The company's Group and Specialty segment saw its revenues decline during the quarter and for the full year while its segment losses exceeded $373 million on both a GAAP and adjusted basis.

Humana's Healthcare Services segment reported quarterly revenues of nearly $7.3 billion while segment earnings came in at $128 million, down $50 million year-over-year.

Bruce Broussard, CEO of the Louisville-based insurer, said the ongoing pandemic highlighted the value of the company's Medicare Advantage program.

C-suite perspective:

"Despite the pandemic, Humana has continued to accelerate on all fronts, including our short-term operating and financial performance, our ability to advance our long-term strategic objectives, and our customer centricity efforts," Broussard said in a statement. "Our response to the pandemic highlighted the value of our Medicare Advantage (MA) program, most notably its focus on supporting underserved populations and on addressing health disparities, critical areas of importance for our company, and for our country. To that end, we had strong MA membership growth in 2020 of 11 percent, including Dual Special Needs Plan (D-SNP) membership growth of 41 percent, and Medicaid footprint expansion from three states to six. We also continued to invest in our primary care and home assets to expand access to care, particularly for underserved populations."

Humana's earnings report was released just over a week after the company announced the appointment of Nwando Olayiwola, M.D., MPH, FAAFP as chief health equity officer.

Forward-looking, Humana projected a GAAP EPS between $20.82 to $21.32 for 2021.

The company also said it anticipates full year individual Medicare Advantage membership to grow by between 425,000 to 475,000 members, representing 11% to 12% growth year-over-year.

For complete financial information, review Humana's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.