Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
Independence Blue Cross had a $423 million net loss last year, compared to a $239 million loss the year before, as difficult financial conditions persisted throughout the healthcare industry, the Philadelphia company reported Thursday.<\/p>\n
Strong demand for healthcare services following the pandemic, continued growth in the use of high-cost medicines, doctors\u2019 use of AI in ways that increase bills, and what CEO Kelly Munson called \u201cunreasonable reimbursement demands\u201d from some healthcare providers following acquisitions were among the challenges she highlighted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a lot of cost pressure, but at the same time, the actions that we took and the way that we responded has reinforced my confidence in our broader organization,\u201d Munson said.<\/p>\n
The financial report for Independence Health Group, which includes IBX, the Medicaid insurer AmeriHealth Caritas, and other businesses, showed that total revenue increased to $33.6 billion from $32 billion in 2024<\/a>. <\/p>\n The company employed more than 14,000 people last year.<\/p>\n Higher Medicaid rates, growth in New Jersey, and strong retention of employers who buy insurance from IBX were big factors in the 13% revenue increase. <\/p>\n IBX lost some customers to Highmark when that Pittsburgh Blue Cross Blue Shield company started selling insurance in Southeastern Pennsylvania in 2024, but about 60% of those customers have come back, IBX\u2019s chief financial officer, Juan Lopez, said.<\/p>\n Revenue from managing benefits for employers who directly pay the cost of employee health coverage rather than by paying insurance premiums fell by $116 million to $794 million. Comcast Corp.\u2019s decision to use a different benefit administrator outside the Philadelphia region accounted for a significant chunk of that decline.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: How employers are fighting the rising costs of specialty drugs.<\/a><\/p>\n AmeriHealth Caritas, which in recent years has accounted for as much as three-quarters of Independence Health Group\u2019s revenue, contributed substantially to the overall loss in 2024<\/a>, but last year the Medicaid division returned to profitability.<\/p>\n Pharmaceutical costs and other details<\/p>\n Lopez provided some details on pharmaceutical trends.<\/p>\n