Elevance, CVS, UnitedHealth Struggle With Rising Medical Costs After COVID-19 Medicaid Policy Ends

Several large insurers have reported higher-than-expected medical costs, particularly in their government-sponsored Medicaid plans, following the end of a pandemic-era policy that required insurers to keep members enrolled. 

The Details: The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency triggered significant changes to Medicaid coverage, including the end of the continuous enrollment provision, which prevented states from disenrolling members during the pandemic. Beginning on April 1, 2023, states began the process of redetermining eligibility for all Medicaid enrollees, which created a disparity between payments from states and rising trends in medical expenses for insurers. 

Analysts at William Blair recently noted that large managed care organizations (MCOs) seem to be facing ...