Anthem officials are confident that the insurer can have all of its members transitioned to its new pharmacy benefit manager, IngenioRx, by the beginning of next year.
Anthem CEO Gail Boudreaux said on the company's earnings call Wednesday morning that the transition is going "extremely well."
"We're confident in our ability to execute on the remaining aspects of the transition," Boudreaux said.
The transition to IngenioRx also provides an opportunity for Anthem to boost in Medicare Advantage star ratings for the 2021 plan year, as the insurer was largely dinged this year on clinical pharmacy results. Boudreaux said the insurer was "disappointed" with its star ratings.
"We have refocused our organization with clear accountability and line of sight to deliver dramatically improved results going forward," she said.
As part of the transition, Anthem has deployed a "command center model," Boudreaux said, that allows it to work collaboratively across a number of staffers to monitor performance.
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Anthem posted $1.18 billion in third-quarter profit, an increase of 23% over the prior-year quarter. The insurers' earnings for the quarter, $4.87 adjusted per share, beat Wall Street forecasts of $4.84 per share. Anthem also reported $26.4 billion in third-quarter revenue, an increase of $3.5 billion or 15% from the third quarter of 2018.
Anthem said its medical membership is up by 1.1 million compared to the third quarter of 2018, reaching 41 million members total. That increase is boosted by its fully insured business, according to the earnings release, which saw gains of 968,000 covered lives.
"Anthem's third quarter results showed continued membership growth—together with strong operating revenue growth—giving us great momentum as we head into 2020," said Gail Boudreaux, Anthem's president and CEO, in a statement.
"I am pleased with our success to date as we remain committed to delivering a simpler, more affordable and more personalized healthcare experience for those we serve," she said.
As a result of the performance, Anthem expects to post profit for the year at greater than $18.45 per share. It also estimates revenue for 2019 to be about $103 billion, with $94 billion to $95 billion of that coming from premium dollars.