Molina Healthcare Reports Successful Past Year Despite Fourth Quarter Slump

Molina Healthcare performed well in 2022 despite a sharp fall in fourth-quarter earnings.

The health insurer said Thursday fourth-quarter net income fell 46% to $56 million, or 96 cents a share, from $103 million, or $1.74 a share, last year. Revenue for the quarter rose to $8.22 billion from $7.41 billion.

Net income for the year rose 20% to $792 million, or $13.55 per share, from $659 million, or $11.25 per share, in 2021. Annual revenue increased to $31.97 billion from $27.77 billion.

A Long Beach, California-based company is bracing for the loss of Medicaid members due to redefinition.

Molina ended the year with 4.7 million members in its flagship Medicaid business. But the looming process of redefining Medicaid starting April 1, when states can start dropping ineligible people from the program, could see the company lose 300,000 members, CFO Mark Keim told investors during an earnings call.

However, the company expects Medicaid enrollment to remain stable at 4.7 million following its recent and upcoming expansion to other markets across the country.

President and CEO Joseph Zubretsky said he can’t predict how many members who no longer qualify for Medicaid will switch to its exchange plans, the company’s smallest line of business, after the redefinition. The company is seeking to transition former Medicaid participants to public market coverage and is working with participants, he said during a phone call.

“Because this is uncharted waters – it’s just never been done before – we decided not to create a model and predict it, but to treat it as [an] the growth potential of our membership,” said Zubretsky.

Earlier this week, Centene estimated that its marketplace products will reach 200,000 and 300,000 members during the reprieve.

Molina expects Medicare enrollment to grow to 175,000 by the end of the year, while marketplace membership drops to 230,000. The company offers managed care services through Medicaid and Medicare, as well as nearly 5 market-based programs. 3 million members in 19 states.