Anthem shrugs off analyst concerns about MA, says enrollment period 'consistent' with expectations

Humana's disappointing results during Medicare Advantage enrollment have kickstarted a conversation about marketing tactics in the industry, but Anthem executives said Wednesday they're not seeing much of the same churn.

CEO Gail Boudreaux told investors on the company's earnings call that Anthem has not seen anything "significantly different" during its Medicare enrollment season, and that Anthem is on pace for another year of double-digit growth in the space in 2022.

Medicare Advantage is a very hot and increasingly crowded market, with high profit potential for payers that can capture significant market share.

"We believe in the strong value of Medicare Advantage," said Felicia Norwood, executive vice president of Anthem's government business, on the call. "It's a very solid business, and we really provide a strong value proposition for our customers.

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Earlier this month, Humana issued a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that slashed its membership growth projections for 2021 following an underwhelming enrollment period. During the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, talk of this potential trend dominated the conversation at payer sessions.

Multiple analysts asked Anthem about the impact of telephonic sales, an area of concern flagged by Humana CEO Bruce Broussard. He named it as an area of improvement for the future, as brokers may focus sales calls on the price of a plan rather than the potential value of the benefits package overall.

Norwood said Anthem did not see a meaningful difference in how its marketing efforts were working. Boudreaux said the annual enrollment period was "consistent" with prior years.

Anthem reported $1.1 billion in profit for the fourth quarter, more than doubling its haul of $551 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The results beat Wall Street, according to analysts from Zacks Investment Research. Anthem did fall short of Street expectations on revenue for the quarter, however, posting $36.6 billion, though that does represent a 14.9% increase from its fourth-quarter 2020 haul of $31.8 billion.

The insurer brought in $6.1 billion in profit for full-year 2021, up from $4.6 billion in 2020. Full-year revenues were $138.6 billion, according to the company's earnings report released Wednesday.

"2021 was another year of strong growth for Anthem as we continued our transformation from a health benefits company to a lifetime trusted partner in health," Boudreaux said in a statement.

RELATED: 2022 forecast: Medicare Advantage is the industry's hottest market. Don't expect that to change next year

"We begin 2022 with ongoing momentum across all our businesses, and we're confident in our ability to deliver earnings growth consistent with our long-term targeted range as we innovate for consumers and advance our digital platform for health," she continued. "Anthem is uniquely positioned to achieve our purpose of improving the Health of Humanity thanks to our 98,000 dedicated employees and their unwavering commitment to the customers and communities we serve."

Anthem said it had 45.4 million total members in the fourth quarter of 2021, a gain of 2.4 million compared to the same period in 2020. That increase was attributable to growth in Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, according to the report.

Its in-house pharmacy benefit manager, IngenioRx, also saw operating gain increase 17.6% to $427 million as it continues to build out its membership.

The company expects $152 billion in revenue for full-year 2022, as well as more than $28.25 in earnings per share.