ANTM Anthem Inc

By Dave Sebastian

Anthem Inc. said it expects the Covid-19 pandemic, including the one-year increase in Medicare physician rates brought on by the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, to hurt its 2021 earnings by 50 cents a share to 70 cents a share.

The health insurer on Wednesday said it expects full-year earnings of more than $23.51 a share, including about 99 cents a share in net unfavorable items. Excluding those items, the company sees adjusted earnings of more than $24.50 a share. Anthem reported 2020 earnings of $17.98 a share, or $22.48 a share on an adjusted basis.

The company said it expects operating revenue to rise almost 12% in 2021 over the prior year to $135.1 billion, and for premium revenue to rise to between $114.5 billion and $115.5 billion.

Anthem said it sees a medical-loss ratio, or the share of premiums the insurer pays out in claims, of 88%, compared with 84.6% in 2020.

By the end of 2021, it expects medical enrollment of 44.1 million to 44.7 million, compared with 42.93 million in 2020.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2021 06:44 ET (11:44 GMT)

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