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Humana expects 7% growth in private Medicare membership in 2018

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Humana expects 7% growth in private Medicare membership in 2018

Humana Inc. expects its membership in private Medicare plans to increase up to 7% in 2018, executives said during the company's 2017 fourth-quarter earnings call.

The company expects its Medicare Advantage membership to increase by 180,000 to 200,000 in 2018, CFO Brian Kane said. Experts and industry observers have predicted 8% annual market growth as more baby boomers and seniors age into Medicare eligibility.

Kane cited better retention rates among existing members and "strong sales" during the recently concluded annual election period, which ran from Oct. 15, 2017, to Dec. 7, 2017, as driving the projected growth.

Kane said about 40% of gross sales during the enrollment window came from "competitor" Medicare Advantage offerings.

The company saw market share gains in most states, led by Florida, Texas, Arizona and Illinois, President and CEO Bruce Broussard said. He also said the company expects to grow its group Medicare Advantage membership by 65,000 to 70,000 due to increased sales in group accounts.

But Broussard said the company's approach to the group Medicare Advantage market is "cautious." The group contracts that employers negotiate with health insurers creates "a very lumpy business," with large amounts of revenue recognized followed by periods of low revenue in between contract renewals.

He also said the company has seen employers move Medicaid Advantage members into subsidized individual plans and away from large group contracts.

"I would say that we are more cautious than probably our competitors on this," he said. "It's very price competitive, and we also see trends of people moving away from the group [into] individual products."