The biggest insurer in the country expects to lose another $200 million on its Obamacare business.
UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it will lose more money in its Obamacare marketplaces due to high costs. It already projected about $600 million in losses in Obamacare this year. UnitedHealth has more than 800,000 enrollees in the marketplaces.
UnitedHealth previously announced that next year it would leave most of the more than 30 Obamacare markets where it has plans. The insurer has said that the program’s high medical costs contributed to the substantial losses.
“The severity of chronic conditions inside the population increased over a year-to-year basis,” the company said during an investor call Tuesday.
Other insurers have experienced similar problems. Humana has said it could flee a small number of Obamacare markets, but other major insurers are staying put, hoping for the marketplaces to stabilize.
Despite the losses, UnitedHealth is earning big bucks from its other healthcare sectors. The insurer generated $46 billion in revenues in the second quarter of the year, a 28 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
