Item 1A. Risk Factors.
You should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, in which case you could lose all or part of your investment. You should also refer to the other information in this filing, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes. The risks and uncertainties described below are those that we currently believe may materially affect our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of or that we currently deem immaterial also may become important factors that affect our Company.
Risks Relating to Our Business
Failure to accurately estimate and price our medical expenses or effectively manage our medical costs or related administrative costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Our profitability depends to a significant degree on our ability to estimate and effectively manage expenses related to health benefits through, among other things, our ability to contract favorably with hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers. For example, our government-sponsored health programs revenue is often based on bids submitted before the start of the initial contract year. If our actual medical expenses exceed our estimates, our health benefits ratio (HBR), or our expenses related to medical services as a percentage of premium revenues, would increase and our profits would decline. Because of the narrow margins of our health plan business, relatively small changes in our HBR can create significant changes in our financial results. Changes in healthcare regulations and practices, the level of utilization of healthcare services, out-of-network utilization and pricing, hospital and pharmaceutical costs, unexpected events, such as disasters, the effects of climate change, major epidemics, pandemics, or newly emergent diseases (such as COVID-19), new medical technologies, new pharmaceutical compounds, increases in provider fraud, and other external factors, including general economic conditions such as inflation and unemployment levels, are generally beyond our control and could reduce our ability to accurately predict and effectively control the costs of providing health benefits. Also, member behavior could continue to be influenced by the uncertainty surrounding the ACA, including potential further legal challenges to the ACA or potential changes in premium subsidies.
Our medical expenses include claims reported but not paid, estimates for claims incurred but not reported (IBNR), and estimates for the costs necessary to process unpaid claims at the end of each period. Our development of the medical claims liability estimate is a continuous process which we monitor and refine on a monthly basis as claims receipts and payment information as well as inpatient acuity information becomes available. As more complete information becomes available, we adjust the amount of the estimate, and include the changes in estimates in medical expenses in the period in which the changes are identified. Given the uncertainties inherent in such estimates, there can be no assurance that our medical claims liability estimate will be adequate, and any adjustments to the estimate may unfavorably impact our results of operations and may be material.
Additionally, when we commence operations in a new state or region or launch a new product, we have limited information with which to estimate our medical claims liability. For a period of time after the inception of the new business, we base our estimates on government-provided historical actuarial data and limited actual incurred and received claims and inpatient acuity information. The addition of new categories of eligible individuals, as well as evolving Health Insurance Marketplace plans, may pose difficulty in estimating our medical claims liability.
From time to time in the past, our actual results have varied from our estimates, particularly in times of significant changes in the number of our members. If it is determined that our estimates are significantly different than actual results, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, if there is a significant delay in our receipt of premiums, our business operations, cash flows, or earnings could be negatively impacted.
Our Medicare programs are subject to a variety of unique risks that could adversely impact our financial results.
If we fail to design and maintain programs that are attractive to Medicare participants; if our Medicare operations are subject to negative outcomes from program audits, sanctions, penalties or other actions; if we do not submit adequate bids in our existing markets or any expansion markets; if our existing contracts are modified or terminated; or if we fail to maintain or improve our quality Star ratings, our current Medicare business and our ability to expand our Medicare operations could be materially and adversely affected, negatively impacting our financial performance. For example, the achievement of Star ratings of 4-star or higher qualifies Medicare Advantage plans for premium bonuses. For rating year 2023, only 3% of our total December 31, 2022 Medicare Advantage membership is in a plan that received an overall rating of 4.0 stars or higher.
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Despite our operational efforts to improve our Star ratings, there can be no assurances that we will be successful in improving our Star ratings in future years. Our quality bonus and rebates may continue to be negatively impacted and the attractiveness of our Medicare Advantage plans may be reduced if we are unable to improve these ratings.
There are also specific additional risks under Title XVIII, Part D of the Social Security Act associated with our provision of Medicare Part D prescription drug benefits as part of our Medicare Advantage plan offerings. These risks include potential uncollectibility of receivables, inadequacy of pricing assumptions, inability to receive and process information and increased pharmaceutical costs, as well as the underlying seasonality of this business, and extended settlement periods for claims submissions. Our failure to comply with Part D program requirements can result in financial and/or operational sanctions on our Part D products, as well as on our Medicare Advantage products that offer no prescription drug coverage.
Risk-adjustment payment systems make our revenue and results of operations more difficult to estimate and could result in retroactive adjustments that have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Most of our government customers employ risk-adjustment models to determine the premium amount they pay for each member. This model pays more for members with predictably higher costs according to the health status of each beneficiary enrolled. Premium payments are generally established at fixed intervals according to the contract terms and then adjusted on a retroactive basis. We reassess the estimates of the risk adjustment settlements each reporting period and any resulting adjustments are made to premium revenue. In addition, revisions by our government customers to the risk-adjustment models have reduced and may continue to reduce our premium revenue.
As a result of the variability of certain factors that determine estimates for risk-adjusted premiums, including plan risk scores, the actual amount of retroactive payments could be materially more or less than our estimates. Consequently, our estimate of our plans' risk scores for any period, and any resulting change in our accrual of premium revenues related thereto, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. The data provided to our government customers to determine the risk score are subject to audit by them even after the annual settlements occur. These audits may result in the refund of premiums to the government customer previously received by us, which could be significant and would reduce our premium revenue in the year that repayment is required.
Government customers have performed and continue to perform audits of selected plans to validate the provider coding practices under the risk adjustment model used to calculate the premium paid for each member. In 2023, CMS announced the removal of the fee-for-service adjuster from the risk adjustment data validation audit methodology beginning for audit year 2018, which could increase our audit error scores. We anticipate that CMS will continue to conduct audits of our Medicare contracts and contract years on an on-going basis. An audit may result in the refund of premiums to CMS. It is likely that a payment adjustment could occur as a result of these audits; and any such adjustment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Any failure to adequately price products offered or any reduction in products offered for Medicare Advantage and in the Health Insurance Marketplace may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
In the Health Insurance Marketplace, we may be adversely impacted by being selected by individuals who have higher acuity levels than those individuals who selected us in the past and healthy individuals may decide to opt out of the pool altogether. In addition, the risk adjustment provisions of the ACA established to apportion risk amongst insurers may not be effective in appropriately mitigating the financial risks related to the Health Insurance Marketplace product, are subject to a high degree of estimation and variability and are affected by our members' acuity relative to the membership acuity of other insurers. Further, changes in the competitive market for both Health Insurance Marketplace and the Medicare Advantage products over time, changes to member eligibility in the program design or changes in the financial incentives of individuals and competitors to participate in such products may make pricing difficult to predict. For example, competitors may introduce pricing, or broker incentives that we may not be able to match, which may adversely affect our ability to compete effectively. Competitors may also choose to exit the market altogether or otherwise suffer financial difficulty, which could adversely impact the pool of potential insured, or require us to increase premium rates. Any significant variation from our expectations regarding acuity, enrollment levels, adverse selection, out-of-network costs, or other assumptions utilized in setting adequate premium rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows for both our Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicare Advantage products.
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We derive a portion of our cash flow and gross margin from our PDP operations, for which we submit annual bids for participation. The results of our bids could have a material adverse effect on ourresults of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
A significant portion of our PDP membership is obtained from the auto-assignment of beneficiaries in CMS-designated regions where our PDP premium bids are below benchmarks of other plans' bids. In general, our premium bids are based on assumptions regarding PDP membership, utilization, drug costs, drug rebates, and other factors for each region. Our 2023 PDP bids resulted in 34 of the 34 CMS regions in which we were below the benchmarks, consistent with our 2022 PDP bids.
If our future Part D premium bids are not below the CMS benchmarks, we risk losing PDP members who were previously assigned to us and we may not have additional PDP members auto-assigned to us, which could materially reduce our revenue and profits.
Our encounter data may be inaccurate or incomplete, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows and ability to bid for, and continue to participate in, certain programs.
Our contracts require the submission of complete and correct encounter data. The accurate and timely reporting of encounter data is increasingly important to the success of our programs because more states are using encounter data to determine compliance with performance standards and to set premium rates. We have expended and may continue to expend additional effort and incur significant additional costs to collect or correct inaccurate or incomplete encounter data and have been and continue to be, exposed to operating sanctions and financial fines and penalties for noncompliance. In some instances, our government clients have established retroactive requirements for the encounter data we must submit. There also may be periods of time in which we are unable to meet existing requirements. In either case, it may be prohibitively expensive or impossible for us to collect or reconstruct this historical data.
We may experience challenges in obtaining complete and accurate encounter data, due to difficulties with providers and third-party vendors submitting claims in a timely fashion in the proper format, and with state agencies in coordinating such submissions. As states increase their reliance on encounter data, these difficulties could adversely affect the premium rates we receive and how membership is assigned to us and subject us to financial penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and our ability to bid for, and continue to participate in, certain programs.
If we are not successful in procuring new government contracts or renewing existing government contracts, or if we receive an adverse finding or review resulting from an audit or investigation, our business may be adversely affected.
A substantial portion of our business relates to the provision of managed care programs and selected services to individuals receiving benefits under governmental assistance or entitlement programs. We provide these and other healthcare services under contracts with government entities in the areas in which we operate. Our government contracts are generally intended to run for a fixed number of years and may be extended for an additional specified number of years if the contracting entity or its agent elects to do so. Initial bids for these contracts and initial implementation of these contracts can have substantial start up costs, and may ultimately be unsuccessful. For example, in order to obtain a certificate of authority in most jurisdictions, we must first establish a provider network, have systems in place, and demonstrate our ability to administer a state contract and process claims. Once a new contract is awarded, we may experience delays in operational start dates. As a result of these factors, start-up operations may decrease our profitability, or we may not grow as quickly as we anticipated.
When our contracts with government entities expire, they may be opened for bidding by competing healthcare providers, and there is no guarantee that our contracts will be renewed or extended. Competitors may buy their way into the market by submitting bids with lower pricing. Even if our responsive bids are successful, the bids may be based upon assumptions or other factors which could result in the contracts being less profitable than we had anticipated. Further, our government contracts contain certain provisions regarding eligibility, enrollment and dis-enrollment processes for covered services, eligible providers, periodic financial and informational reporting, quality assurance, timeliness of claims payment, compliance with contract terms and law, and agreement to maintain a Medicare plan in the state and financial standards, among other things, and are subject to cancellation if we fail to perform in accordance with the standards set by regulatory agencies. For example, our subsidiary, Health Net of California, was selected by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for direct Medicaid contracts in 10 counties, including Los Angeles (in which a portion will be subcontracted). The contracts are anticipated to begin in January 2024.
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We are also subject to various reviews, audits, and investigations, as well as self-reporting requirements, to verify our compliance with the terms of our contracts with various governmental agencies, as well as compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Any non-compliance with our government contracts, adverse review, audit, or investigation, could result in, among other things: cancellation of our contracts; refunding of amounts we have been paid pursuant to our contracts; imposition of fines, penalties, and other sanctions on us; loss of our right to participate in various programs; increased difficulty in selling our products and services; loss of one or more of our licenses; lowered quality Star ratings; harm to our reputation; or required changes to the way we do business. For example, several states have made claims related to services previously provided by Envolve, which historically provided PBM and specialty pharmacy services, including among other things, (i) seeking payment for services already reimbursed, (ii) not accurately disclosing to the true cost of the PBM services and (iii) inflating dispensing fees for prescription drugs. For additional information, see Note 18. Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additional claims, reviews, or investigations may still be brought by other states, the federal government, or shareholder litigants, and there is no guarantee we will have the ability to settle such claims with other states within the reserve estimate we have recorded and on other acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, under government procurement regulations and practices, a negative determination resulting from a government audit of our business practices could result in a contractor being fined, debarred, and/or suspended from being able to bid on, or be awarded, new government contracts for a period of time.
If any of our government contracts are terminated, not renewed, renewed on less favorable terms, or not renewed on a timely basis, or if we receive an adverse finding or review resulting from an audit or investigation, our business and reputation may be adversely impacted, our goodwill could be impaired and our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows may be materially affected.
We contract with independent third-party vendors and service providers who provide services to us and our subsidiaries or to whom we delegate selected functions. Violations of, or noncompliance with, laws and regulations governing our business by such third parties, or governing our dealings with such parties, could, among other things, subject us to additional audits, reviews, investigations, self-reporting requirements, and other adverse effects.
Our business could be materially adversely affected by the effects of widespread public health pandemics, such as COVID-19.
Public health pandemics or widespread outbreaks of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19, could materially adversely impact our business. Our business has been affected by the spread of COVID-19, and the extent to which COVID-19 continues to impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. Factors that may determine the severity of the impact include the duration and scale of the outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 (including new strains or variants, which may be more contagious, more severe or less responsive to treatment or vaccines), the costs of prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and the potential that we will not receive government reimbursement of additional expenses incurred by our members who contract or require testing for COVID-19 or who experience other health impacts as a result of the pandemic, employee retention, mobility, productivity and utilization of leave and other benefits, financial and other impacts on the healthcare provider community, disruptions or delays in the supply chain for testing and treatment supplies, protective equipment and other products and services, and the actions to contain COVID-19 or address its impact (including laws, regulations and emergency orders, such as stay at home orders, physical distancing requirements, forced business closures and vaccine requirements or mandates and directives related to the timing and scope of vaccine distribution), among other factors. In addition, increased utilization patterns (including deferred demand) have had, and may continue to have, an impact on our business as members' pattern of seeking healthcare fluctuates. Additionally, the spread of COVID-19 has previously caused disruption and volatility in the global capital markets, and future disruptions could adversely impact our access to capital. Finally, the impact of the above items on our government partners could result in program changes or delays or reduced capitation payments to us. We cannot at this time predict the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
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Ineffectiveness of state-operated systems and subcontractors could adversely affect our business.
A number of our health plans rely on other state-operated systems or subcontractors to qualify, solicit, educate, and assign eligible members into managed care plans. The effectiveness of these state operations and subcontractors can have a material effect on a health plan's enrollment in a particular month or over an extended period. When a state implements either new programs to determine eligibility or new processes to assign or enroll eligible members into health plans, or when it chooses new subcontractors, or has not adequately maintained systems, there is an increased potential for an unanticipated impact on the overall number of members assigned to managed care plans.
Execution of our value creation strategy may create disruptions in our business.
Our value creation strategy requires the successful execution of operational initiatives and change management, which may not occur. These initiatives include contracting with new third-party vendors and are subject to a variety of risks including, without limitation: significant initial investment with the anticipated financial or quality benefits not being realized or not at the levels or on the timing anticipated; delays or challenges in execution; diversion of management's time and attention; our inability to effectively manage significant organizational change negatively impacting our corporate culture; inability of third parties to successfully comply with the terms, transition deadlines, and service levels stated forth in the contracts, and unexpected costs in the completion of initiatives, including as a result of unexpected factors or events.
If we are unable to effectively execute our value creation strategy, our future growth may suffer, and our results of operations could be harmed.
If state regulators do not approve payments of dividends and distributions by our subsidiaries to us, we may not have sufficient funds to implement our business strategy.
We principally operate through our health plan subsidiaries. As part of normal operations, we may make requests for dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries to fund our operations. In addition to state corporate law limitations, these subsidiaries are subject to more stringent state insurance and HMO laws and regulations that limit the amount of dividends and distributions that can be paid to us without prior approval of, or notification to, state regulators. If these regulators were to deny or delay our subsidiaries' requests to pay dividends, the funds available to us would be limited, which could harm our ability to implement our business strategy.
We derive a significant portion of our premium revenues from operations in a number of states, and our results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows could be materially affected by a decrease in premium revenues or profitability in any one of those states.
Operations in a number of states have accounted for a significant portion of our premium revenues to date. If we were unable to continue to operate in any of those states or if our current operations in any portion of one of those states were significantly curtailed, our revenues could decrease materially. Our reliance on operations in a limited number of states could cause our revenues and profitability to change suddenly and unexpectedly depending on legislative or other governmental or regulatory actions and decisions, economic conditions, and similar factors in those states. Government entities in states we currently serve may open the bidding for their Medicaid or other healthcare programs to other health insurers through a request for proposal process. For example, our subsidiary, Health Net of California, was selected by the California DHCS for direct Medicaid contracts in 10 counties, including Los Angeles (in which a portion will be subcontracted). The contracts are anticipated to begin in January 2024. Reductions in our service area or services provided in any of the states in which we operate could harm our business.
Competition may limit our ability to increase penetration of the markets that we serve.
We compete for members principally on the basis of size and quality of provider networks, the design and cost of benefits provided, and quality of service. We compete with numerous types of competitors, including other health plans and traditional state Medicaid programs that reimburse providers as care is provided, as well as technology companies, new joint ventures, financial services firms, consulting firms, and other non-traditional competitors. In addition, the administration of the ACA has the potential to shift the competitive landscape in our segment.
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Some of the health plans with which we compete have greater financial and other resources and offer a broader scope of products than we do. In addition, significant merger and acquisition activity continues to occur in the managed care industry, as well as complementary industries, such as the hospital, physician, pharmaceutical, medical device, and health information systems businesses. To the extent that competition intensifies in any market that we serve, as a result of industry consolidation or otherwise, our ability to retain or increase members and providers, or maintain or increase our revenue growth, pricing flexibility, and control over medical cost trends may be adversely affected.
If we are unable to maintain relationships with our provider networks, our profitability may be harmed.
Our profitability depends, in large part, upon our ability to contract at competitive prices with hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers. Our provider arrangements with our primary care physicians, specialists, and hospitals generally may be canceled by either party without cause upon 90 to 120 days prior written notice. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to continue to renew our existing contracts or enter into new contracts on a timely basis or under favorable terms enabling us to service our members profitably. Healthcare providers with whom we contract may not properly manage the costs of, and access to services, be able to provide effective telehealth services, maintain financial solvency, or avoid disputes with other providers. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on the provision of services to our members and our operations.
In any particular market, physicians and other healthcare providers could refuse to contract, demand higher payments, or take other actions that could result in higher medical costs or difficulty in meeting regulatory or accreditation requirements, among other things. In some markets, certain healthcare providers, particularly hospitals, physician/hospital organizations, or multi-specialty physician groups, may have significant market positions or near monopolies that could result in diminished bargaining power on our part. In addition, accountable care organizations, practice management companies, which aggregate physician practices for administrative efficiency and marketing leverage, and other organizational structures that physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers choose may change the way in which these providers interact with us and may change the competitive landscape. Such organizations or groups of healthcare providers may compete directly with us, which could adversely affect our operations, and our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows by impacting our relationships with these providers or affecting the way that we price our products and estimate our costs, which might require us to incur costs to change our operations. Provider networks may consolidate or be acquired by our direct competitors, resulting in a reduction in the competitive environment. In addition, if these providers refuse to contract with us, use their market position to negotiate contracts unfavorable to us, or place us at a competitive disadvantage, our ability to market products or to be profitable in those areas could be materially and adversely affected.
From time to time, healthcare providers assert or threaten to assert claims seeking to terminate non-cancelable agreements due to alleged actions or inactions by us. If we are unable to retain our current provider contract terms or enter into new provider contracts timely or on favorable terms, our profitability may be harmed. In addition, from time to time, we may be subject to class action or other lawsuits by healthcare providers with respect to claim payment procedures or similar matters. For example, our wholly owned subsidiary, Health Net Life Insurance Company (HNL), is and may continue to be subject to such disputes with respect to HNL's payment levels in connection with the processing of out-of-network provider reimbursement claims for the provision of certain substance abuse related services. HNL expects to vigorously defend its claims payment practices. Nevertheless, in the event HNL receives an adverse finding in any related legal proceeding or from a regulator or is otherwise required to reimburse providers for these claims at rates that are higher than expected or for claims HNL otherwise believes are unallowable, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, regardless of whether any such lawsuits brought against us are successful or have merit, they will still be time-consuming and costly and could distract our management's attention. As a result, under such circumstances, we may incur significant expenses and may be unable to operate our business effectively.
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If we or our third-party vendors are unable to integrate and manage information systems effectively, our operations could be disrupted.
Our operations and our value creation strategy depend significantly on effective information systems. The information gathered and processed by information systems assists us in, among other things, monitoring utilization and other cost factors, processing provider claims, and providing data to our regulators. Our healthcare providers also depend upon our information systems for membership verifications, claims status, and other information. Our information systems and applications require continual maintenance, upgrading, and enhancement to meet our operational needs and regulatory requirements. We regularly upgrade and expand our information systems' capabilities. If we or our third-party vendors experience difficulties with the transition to or from information systems or do not appropriately integrate, maintain, enhance, or expand information systems, we could suffer, among other things, operational disruptions, loss of existing members and providers, and difficulty in attracting new members and providers, complaints, regulatory problems and increases in administrative expenses. In addition, our or our third-party vendors' ability to integrate and manage information systems may be impaired as the result of events outside our control, including acts of nature, such as earthquakes or fires, or acts of terrorists, which may include cyber-attacks by terrorists or other governmental or non-governmental actors. In addition, we may from time to time obtain significant portions of our systems-related or other services or facilities from independent third parties, which may make our operations vulnerable if such third parties fail to perform adequately.
A failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties with which we do business, including as a result of cyber-attacks, could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Information security risks have significantly increased in recent years in part because of the proliferation of new technologies, the use of the internet and telecommunications technologies to conduct our operations, and the increased sophistication and activities of organized crime, hackers, terrorists, and other external parties, including foreign state agents. Our operations rely on the secure processing, transmission, and storage of confidential, proprietary, and other information in our computer systems and networks as well as those of third parties with which we do business.
Security breaches may arise from external or internal threats. External breaches include hacking personal information for financial gain, attempting to cause harm or interruption to our operations, or intending to obtain competitive information. We experience attempted external hacking or malicious attacks on a regular basis. We maintain a rigorous system of prevention and detection controls through our security programs; however, our prevention and detection controls may not prevent or identify all such attacks on a timely basis, or at all. Internal breaches may result from inappropriate security access to confidential information by rogue employees, consultants, or third-party service providers. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss, or other unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential member information, financial data, competitively sensitive information, or other proprietary data, whether by us or a third party, could have a material adverse effect on our business reputation, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.
We may be unable to attract, retain or effectively manage the succession of key personnel.
We are highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel to operate and expand our business. We may be adversely impacted if we are unable to adequately plan for the succession of our executives and senior management. While we have succession plans in place for members of our executive and senior management team, these plans do not guarantee that the services of our executive and senior management team will continue to be available to us. Our ability to replace any departed members of our executive and senior management team or other key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in the Managed Care and Specialty Services industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to operate and successfully expand a business such as ours. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain, or motivate these personnel. Further, the increased availability of hybrid or remote working arrangements has expanded the pool of companies that can compete for our employees and employment candidates. Our recently adopted modern work environment, including remote and hybrid work arrangements which is utilized by the majority of our employees, may present operational, cybersecurity and workplace culture challenges. If we are unable to attract, retain and effectively manage the succession plans for key personnel, executives, and senior management, our business and financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be harmed.
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An impairment charge with respect to our real estate portfolio, recorded goodwill, and intangible assets could have a material impact on our results of operations.
Changes in business strategy, divestitures, government regulations, or economic or market conditions and non-renewal of government contracts have resulted and may result in impairments of our real estate portfolio, goodwill, and other intangible assets at any time in the future. In connection with our real estate optimization initiative, divestitures and the DoD's December 2022 announcement to not award Health Net Federal Services a TRICARE Managed Care Support Contract, we have recorded a total of $2.3 billion in impairment charges during the year ended December 31, 2022. We anticipate additional future charges of approximately $60 million related to real estate optimization. For additional information, see Note 7. Goodwill and Intangible Assets to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We may have additional impairment charges in connection with our periodic evaluation of our goodwill and intangible assets. Our judgments regarding the existence of impairment indicators are based on, among other things, legal factors, contract terms, market conditions, and operational performance. If an event or events occur that would cause us to revise our estimates and assumptions used in analyzing the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets, such revision could result in a non-cash impairment charge that could have a material impact on our results of operations in the period in which the impairment occurs.
Risks Relating to Regulatory and Legal Matters
Reductions in funding, changes to eligibility requirements for government-sponsored healthcare programs in which we participate, and any inability on our part to effectively adapt to changes to these programs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
The majority of our revenues come from government subsidized healthcare programs including Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, CHIP, LTSS, ABD, Foster Care, and Health Insurance Marketplace premiums. Changes in these programs could change the number of persons enrolled in or eligible for these programs and increase our administrative and healthcare costs under these programs. For example, we currently expect Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, which have been suspended as a result of COVID-19, to begin on April 1, 2023, which we expect to significantly reduce our membership in our Medicaid programs. We may not be able to offset the loss of this membership by increased enrollment in our Health Insurance Marketplace products. Maintaining current eligibility levels could cause states to reduce reimbursement or reduce benefits in order for states to afford to maintain eligibility levels. If any state in which we operate were to decrease premiums paid to us or pay us less than the amount necessary to keep pace with our cost trends, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Under most of these programs, the base premium rate paid for each program differs, depending on a combination of factors such as defined upper payment limits, a member's health status, age, gender, county or region, and benefit mix. Since Medicaid was created in 1965, the federal government and the states have shared the costs for this program, with the federal share currently averaging approximately 60%. We are therefore exposed to risks associated with federal and state government contracting or participating in programs involving a government payor, including but not limited to the general ability of the federal and/or state governments to terminate or modify contracts with them, in whole or in part, without prior notice, for convenience or for default based on performance; potential regulatory or legislative action that may materially modify amounts owed; our dependence upon Congressional or legislative appropriation and allotment of funds and the impact that delays in government payments could have on our operating cash flow and liquidity; and other regulatory, legislative or judicial actions that may have an impact on the operations of government subsidized healthcare programs including ongoing litigation involving the ACA. For example, future levels of funding and premium rates may be affected by continuing government efforts to contain healthcare costs and may further be affected by state and federal budgetary constraints. Governments periodically consider reducing or reallocating the amount of money they spend for Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, CHIP, LTSS, ABD, and Foster Care. Furthermore, Medicare remains subject to the automatic spending reductions imposed by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (sequestration), subject to a 2% cap, which was extended by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 through 2029. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 temporarily suspended the Medicare sequestration for the period of May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, while also extending the mandatory sequestration policy by an additional one year, through 2030. The Bipartisan-Bicameral Omnibus COVID Relief Deal passed in December 2020 further extended the suspension of the Medicare sequestration until March 31, 2021, and the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers from Sequester Cuts Act passed in December 2021 extended the sequester through March 31, 2022 and adjusted the sequester to 1% for the period between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022.
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In addition, reductions in defense spending could have an adverse impact on certain government programs in which we currently participate by, among other things, terminating or materially changing such programs, or by decreasing or delaying payments made under such programs. Adverse economic conditions may put pressures on state budgets as tax and other state revenues decrease while the population that is eligible to participate in these programs remains steady or increases, creating more need for funding. We anticipate this will require government agencies to find funding alternatives, which may result in reductions in funding for programs, contraction of covered benefits, and limited or no premium rate increases or premium rate decreases. A reduction (or less than expected increase), a protracted delay, or a change in allocation methodology in government funding for these programs, as well as termination of one or more contracts for the convenience of the government, may materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
As has been widely reported, the United States Treasury Secretary has stated that the federal government may not be able to meet its debt payments in the relatively near future unless the federal debt ceiling is raised. If legislation increasing the debt ceiling is not enacted and the debt ceiling is reached, the federal government may stop or delay making payments on its obligations, or if another federal government shutdown were to occur for a prolonged period of time, federal government payment obligations, including its obligations under Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, CHIP, LTSS, ABD, Foster Care, and the Health Insurance Marketplace, may be delayed. Similarly, if state government shutdowns were to occur, state payment obligations may be delayed. If the federal or state governments fail to make payments under these programs on a timely basis, our business could suffer, and our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows may be materially affected.
Payments from government payors may be delayed in the future, which, if extended for any significant period of time, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows or liquidity. In addition, delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain or maintain, governmental approvals, or moratoria imposed by regulatory authorities, could adversely affect our revenues or membership, increase costs or adversely affect our ability to bring new products to market as forecasted. Other changes to our government programs could affect our willingness or ability to participate in any of these programs or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Significant changes or judicial challenges to the ACA could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
The enactment of the ACA in March 2010 transformed the U.S. healthcare delivery system through a series of complex initiatives; however, the ACA has faced, and continues to face, administrative, judicial and legislative challenges to repeal or change certain of its significant provisions. Changes to portions or the entirety of the ACA, as well as judicial interpretations in response to constitutional and other legal challenges, as well as the uncertainty generated by such actual or potential challenges, could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The ultimate content, timing, or effect of any potential future legislation or litigation and the outcome of other lawsuits cannot be predicted.
Among the most significant of the ACA's provisions was the establishment of the Health Insurance Marketplace for individuals and small employers to purchase health insurance coverage that included a minimum level of benefits and restrictions on coverage limitations and premium rates, as well as the expansion of Medicaid coverage to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level beginning January 1, 2014, subject to each state's election. The HHS additionally indicated that it would consider a limited number of premium assistance demonstration proposals from states that want to privatize Medicaid expansion. Several states in which we operate have obtained Section 1115 waivers to implement the ACA's Medicaid expansion in ways that extend beyond the flexibility provided by the federal law, with additional states pursuing Section 1115 waivers regarding eligibility criteria, benefits, and cost-sharing, and provider payments across their Medicaid programs. Litigation challenging Section 1115 waiver activity for both new and previously approved waivers is expected to continue both through administrative actions and the courts.
There have been significant efforts from the previous administration to repeal or amend certain provisions of the ACA through changes in regulations. Such initiatives included repeal of the individual mandate effective in 2019, as well as easing the regulatory restrictions placed on short-term health plans and association health plans (AHPs), which plans often provide fewer benefits than the traditional ACA insurance benefits.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule on June 19, 2018, which expanded flexibility regarding the regulation and formation of AHPs provided by small employer groups and associations. On June 13, 2019, the HHS, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Treasury issued a final rule allowing employers of all sizes that do not offer a group coverage plan to fund a new kind of health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), known as an individual coverage HRA (ICHRA). Beginning January 1, 2020, employees became able to use employer-funded ICHRAs to buy individual-market insurance, including insurance purchased on the public exchanges formed under the ACA.
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It remains uncertain whether or when the current administration will propose changes to restrict these insurance plan options that are not required to meet ACA requirements, and what the impact of such potential changes may be.
The constitutionality of the ACA itself continues to face judicial challenge. The ultimate content, timing or effect of any potential future legislation or litigation and the outcome of other lawsuits cannot be predicted and may be delayed as a result of court closures and reduced court dockets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In contrast to previous executive and legislative efforts to restrict or limit certain provisions of the ACA, the American Rescue Act, enacted on March 11, 2021, contained provisions aimed at leveraging Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace to expand health insurance coverage and affordability to consumers. The American Rescue Act authorized an additional $1.9 trillion in federal spending to address the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and contained several provisions designed to increase coverage of certain healthcare services, expand eligibility and benefits, incentivize state Medicaid expansion, and adjust federal financing for state Medicaid programs, the ultimate impact of which remain uncertain. The American Rescue Act enhanced eligibility for the advance premium tax credit for certain enrollees in the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Inflation Reduction Act, enacted on August 16, 2022, extended the enhanced eligibility for the advance premium tax credit for Marketplace members through the 2025 tax year.
These changes and other potential changes involving the functioning of the Health Insurance Marketplace as a result of additional new legislation, regulation, executive action, or litigation, including those related to extending enrollment periods, increasing eligibility in the program design, changing the eligibility and amount of the advanced premium tax credit and expanding navigator services, could impact our business and results of operations adversely or in other ways that we do not currently anticipate.
Our business activities are highly regulated and new laws or regulations or changes in existing laws or regulations or their enforcement or application could force us to change how we operate and could harm our business.
Our business is extensively regulated by the states in which we operate and by the federal government. In addition, the managed care industry has received negative publicity that has led to increased legislation, regulation, review of industry practices, and private litigation in the commercial sector. Such negative publicity may adversely affect our stock price and damage our reputation in various markets.
In each of the jurisdictions in which we operate, we are regulated by the relevant insurance, health, and/or human services or government departments that oversee the activities of MCOs providing or arranging to provide services to Medicaid, Medicare, Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees, or other beneficiaries. For example, our health plan subsidiaries, as well as our applicable specialty companies, must comply with minimum statutory capital and other financial solvency requirements, such as deposit and surplus requirements.
The frequent enactment of, changes to, or interpretations of laws and regulations could, among other things: force us to restructure our relationships with providers within our network; require us to implement additional or different programs and systems; restrict revenue and enrollment growth; increase our healthcare and administrative costs; impose additional capital and surplus requirements; and increase or change our liability to members in the event of malpractice by our contracted providers. In addition, changes in political party, or administrations at the state or federal level in the United States or internationally may change the attitude towards healthcare programs and result in changes to the existing legislative or regulatory environment.
Additionally, the taxes and fees paid to federal, state, local, and international governments may increase due to several factors, including: enactment of, changes to, or interpretations of tax laws and regulations, audits by governmental authorities, geographic expansions into higher taxing jurisdictions and the effect of expansions into international markets.
We are often required to maintain a minimum HBR or share profits in excess of certain levels, which may be retroactive. In certain circumstances, our plans have returned premiums back to the states, enrollees, or other beneficiaries in the event profits exceed established levels or HBR does not meet the minimum requirement. The amount of premium returned may include transparent pharmacy pricing and rebate initiatives. Other states may require us to meet certain performance and quality metrics in order to maintain our contract or receive additional or full contractual revenue.
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The governmental healthcare programs in which we participate are subject to the satisfaction of certain regulations and performance standards. Regulators require numerous steps for continued implementation of the ACA, including the promulgation of a substantial number of potentially more onerous federal regulations. If we fail to effectively implement or appropriately adjust our operational and strategic initiatives with respect to the implementation of healthcare reform, or do not do so as effectively as our competitors, our results of operations may be materially adversely affected. For example, under the ACA, Congress authorized CMS and the states to implement managed care demonstration programs to serve dually eligible beneficiaries to improve the coordination of their care. Participation in these demonstration programs is subject to CMS approval and the satisfaction of conditions to participation, including meeting certain performance requirements. Our inability to improve or maintain adequate quality scores and Star ratings to meet government performance requirements or to match the performance of our competitors could result in limitations to our participation in or exclusion from these or other government programs. Specifically, several of our Medicaid contracts require us to maintain a Medicare health plan.
In April 2016, CMS issued final regulations that revised existing Medicaid managed care rules by establishing a minimum medical loss ratio standard for Medicaid of 85% and strengthening provisions related to network adequacy and access to care, enrollment and disenrollment protections, beneficiary support information, continued service during beneficiary appeals, and delivery system and payment reform initiatives, among others. On November 13, 2020, CMS finalized revisions to the Medicaid managed care regulations, many of which became effective in December 2020. While not a wholesale revision of the 2016 regulations, the November 2020 final rule adopted changes in areas including network adequacy, beneficiary protections, quality oversight, and the establishment of capitation rates and payment policies. Although we strive to comply with all existing regulations and to meet performance standards applicable to our business, failure to meet these requirements could result in financial fines and penalties. Also, states or other governmental entities may carve out certain services and benefits from the government programs in which we participate, or they may not allow us to continue to participate in their government programs, or we may fail to win procurements to participate in such programs, either of which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
In addition, as a result of the expansion of our businesses and operations conducted in foreign countries, we face political, economic, legal, compliance, regulatory, operational, and other risks and exposures that are unique and vary by jurisdiction. These foreign regulatory requirements with respect to, among other items, environmental, tax, licensing, intellectual property, privacy, data protection, investment, capital, management control, labor relations, and fraud and corruption regulations are different than those faced by our domestic businesses. In addition, we are subject to U.S. laws that regulate the conduct and activities of U.S.-based businesses operating abroad, such as the FCPA. Any failure to comply with laws and regulations governing our conduct outside the United States or to successfully navigate international regulatory regimes that apply to us could adversely affect our ability to market our products and services, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our pharmacy services face regulatory and other risks and uncertainties which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Our Centene Pharmacy Services (formerly Envolve Pharmacy Solutions) product historically provided PBM services and continues to provide pharmacy benefits administration and specialty pharmacy services. We have transitioned substantially all of our PBM business to a third party as of January 1, 2023. These businesses are subject to federal and state laws and regulations that, among other requirements, govern the relationships of the business with pharmaceutical manufacturers, physicians, pharmacies, customers, and consumers. For example, several states have made claims related to services provided by Envolve including among other things, (i) seeking payment for services already reimbursed, (ii) not accurately disclosing the true cost of the PBM services, and (iii) inflating dispensing fees for prescription drugs. For additional information, see Note 18. Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additional claims, reviews, or investigations may still be brought by other states, the federal government, or shareholder litigants.
We also conduct business as a mail order pharmacy and specialty pharmacy, which subjects these businesses to extensive federal, state, and local laws and regulations. In addition, federal and state legislatures and regulators regularly consider new regulations for the industry that could materially and adversely affect current industry practices, including the receipt or disclosure of rebates from pharmaceutical companies, the development and use of formularies, and the use of average wholesale prices.
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Our specialty pharmacy businesses would be materially and adversely affected by an inability to contract on favorable terms with pharmaceutical manufacturers and other suppliers, including with respect to the structuring of rebates and pricing of new specialty and generic drugs. In addition, our specialty pharmacy businesses could face potential claims in connection with purported errors by our mail order or specialty pharmacies, including in connection with the risks inherent in the authorization, compounding, packaging, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products. Disruptions at any of our mail order or specialty pharmacies due to an event that is beyond our control could affect our ability to process and dispense prescriptions in a timely manner and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
We have been and may from time to time become involved in costly and time-consuming litigation and other regulatory proceedings, which require significant attention from our management and could adversely affect our business.
From time to time, we are a defendant in lawsuits and regulatory actions and are subject to investigations relating to our business, including, without limitation, medical malpractice claims, claims by members alleging failure to pay for or provide healthcare, claims related to non-payment or insufficient payments for out-of-network services, claims related to network adequacy, claims alleging bad faith, investigations regarding our submission of risk adjuster claims, putative securities class actions, protests and appeals related to Medicaid procurement awards, cybersecurity issues, including those related to our or our third-party vendors' information systems; employment-related disputes, including wage and hour claims, submissions to state agencies related to payments or state false claims acts and claims related to the imposition of new taxes, including but not limited to claims that may have retroactive application. For example, several states have made claims related to services previously provided by Envolve, which historically provided PBM and specialty pharmacy services, including among other things, (i) seeking payment for services already reimbursed, (ii) not accurately disclosing the true cost of the PBM services and (iii) inflating dispensing fees for prescription drugs. For additional information, see Note 18. Contingencies to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Additional claims, reviews, or investigations may be brought by other states, the federal government, or shareholder litigants, and there is no guarantee we will have the ability to settle such claims with other states within the reserve estimate we have recorded, on other acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, regardless of the outcome of any litigation or regulatory proceedings, such proceedings are costly and time-consuming and require significant attention from our management, and could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
If we fail to comply with applicable privacy, security, and data laws, regulations, and standards, including with respect to third-party service providers that utilize sensitive personal information on our behalf, our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
As part of our normal operations, we collect, process, and retain confidential member information. We are subject to various federal, state, and international laws, regulations, rules, and contractual requirements regarding the use and disclosure of confidential member information, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the HITECH Act of 2009, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the General Data Protection Regulation, which require us to protect the privacy of medical records and safeguard personal health information we maintain and use. Certain of our businesses are also subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, which is a multifaceted security standard that is designed to protect credit card account data as mandated by payment card industry entities. Despite our best attempts to maintain adherence to information privacy and security best practices, as well as compliance with applicable laws, rules, and contractual requirements, our facilities and systems, and those of our third-party service providers may be vulnerable to privacy or security breaches, acts of vandalism or theft, malware or other forms of cyber-attack, misplaced or lost data including paper or electronic media, programming and/or human errors or other similar events. In the past, we have had data breaches resulting in disclosure of confidential or protected health information that have not resulted in any material financial loss or penalty to date. For example, in 2021, we learned that Accellion, a third-party data transfer provider with whom we contract, had a system vulnerability that resulted in unauthorized access to certain sensitive data of our customers, including protected health information, as well as unauthorized access to the data of several of Accellion's other clients. This incident led to putative class action lawsuits that were filed against us and our subsidiaries, Health Net, LLC, Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company, Health Net Community Solutions, Inc., and California Health & Wellness, and Accellion on behalf of the affected customers. To date, this incident has not had, and we do not believe that this incident is likely to have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. However, there can be no assurance that this incident and other privacy or security breaches will not require us to expend significant resources to remediate any damage, interrupt our operations and damage our business or reputation, subject us to state, federal, or international agency review, and result in enforcement actions, material fines and penalties, litigation or other actions which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
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In addition, HIPAA broadened the scope of fraud, waste and abuse laws applicable to healthcare companies and established enforcement mechanisms to combat fraud, waste and abuse, including civil and, in some instances, criminal penalties for failure to comply with specific standards relating to the privacy, security and electronic transmission of protected health information. The HITECH Act expanded the scope of these provisions by mandating individual notification in instances of breaches of protected health information, providing enhanced penalties for HIPAA violations, and granting enforcement authority to states' Attorneys General in addition to the HHS Office for Civil Rights. It is possible that Congress may enact additional legislation in the future to increase the amount or application of penalties and to create a private right of action under HIPAA, which could entitle patients to seek monetary damages for violations of the privacy rules.
If we fail to comply with the extensive federal and state fraud, waste and abuse laws, our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
We, along with other companies involved in public healthcare programs, have been, and from time to time are, the subject of federal and state fraud, waste and abuse investigations. The regulations and contractual requirements applicable to participants in these public sector programs are complex and subject to change. Violations of fraud, waste and abuse laws applicable to us could result in civil monetary penalties, criminal fines and imprisonment, and/or exclusion from participation in Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE, and other federal healthcare programs and federally funded state health programs. Fraud, waste and abuse prohibitions encompass a wide range of activities, including kickbacks for referral of members, incorrect and unsubstantiated billing or billing for unnecessary medical services, improper marketing, and violations of patient privacy rights. These fraud, waste and abuse laws include the federal False Claims Act, which prohibits the known filing of a false claim or the known use of false statements to obtain payment from the federal government, and the federal anti-kickback statute, which prohibits the payment or receipt of remuneration to induce referrals or recommendations of healthcare items or services. Many states have fraud, waste and abuse laws, including false claim act and anti-kickback statutes that closely resemble the federal False Claims Act and the federal anti-kickback statute. In addition, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 encouraged states to enact state-versions of the federal False Claims Act that establish liability to the state for false and fraudulent Medicaid claims and that provide for, among other things, claims to be filed by qui tam relators (private parties acting on the government's behalf). Federal and state governments have made investigating and prosecuting healthcare fraud, waste and abuse a priority. In the event we fail to comply with the extensive federal and state fraud, waste and abuse laws, our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows could be materially and adversely affected.
We might be adversely impacted by tax legislation or challenges to our tax positions.
We are subject to the tax laws in the U.S. at the federal, state, and local government levels and to the tax laws of other jurisdictions in which we operate. Tax laws might change in ways that adversely affect our tax positions, effective tax rate, and cash flow. In August 2022, the U.S. federal government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, which imposed a 15% corporate minimum tax on certain large corporations and a 1% tax on share repurchases after December 31, 2022. The tax laws are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. We are subject to tax examinations in various jurisdictions that might assess additional tax liabilities against us. Our tax reporting positions might be challenged by relevant tax authorities, we might incur significant expense in our efforts to defend those challenges, and we might be unsuccessful in those efforts. Developments in examinations and challenges might materially change our provision for taxes in the affected periods and might differ materially from our historical tax accruals. Any of these risks might have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
Risks Relating to Conditions in the Financial Markets and Economy
Our investment portfolio may suffer losses which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or liquidity.
We maintain a significant investment portfolio of cash equivalents and short-term and long-term investments in a variety of securities, which are subject to general credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risks and will decline in value if interest rates increase or one of the issuers' credit ratings is reduced. As a result, we may experience a reduction in value or loss of our investments, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition.
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Adverse credit market conditions may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity or our ability to obtain credit on acceptable terms.
In the past, the securities and credit markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruption. The availability of credit, from virtually all types of lenders, has at times been restricted. In the event we need access to additional capital to pay our operating expenses, fund subsidiary surplus requirements, make payments on or refinance our indebtedness, pay capital expenditures, or fund acquisitions, our ability to obtain such capital may be limited and the cost of any such capital may be significant, particularly if we are unable to access our existing revolving credit facility.
Our access to additional financing will depend on a variety of factors such as prevailing economic and credit market conditions, the general availability of credit, the overall availability of credit to our industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, and perceptions of our financial prospects. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us. If one or any combination of these factors were to occur, our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient, and in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain sufficient additional financing on favorable terms, within an acceptable time, or at all.
We have substantial indebtedness outstanding and may incur additional indebtedness in the future. Such indebtedness could reduce our agility and may adversely affect our financial condition.
As of December 31, 2022, we had consolidated indebtedness of $18.0 billion. We may further increase or refinance our indebtedness in the future.
This may have the effect, among other things, of reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and increasing borrowing costs.
Among other things, our revolving credit facility and term loan facility (collectively, the Company Credit Facility) and the indentures governing our notes require us to comply with various covenants that impose restrictions on our operations, including our ability to incur additional indebtedness, create liens, pay dividends, make certain investments or other restricted payments, sell or otherwise dispose of substantially all of our assets and engage in other activities. Our Company Credit Facility also requires us to comply with a maximum debt to EBITDA ratio and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio. These restrictive covenants could limit our ability to pursue our business strategies. In addition, any failure by us to comply with these restrictive covenants could result in an event of default under our Company Credit Facility and, in some circumstances, under the indentures governing our notes, which, in any case, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
Phasing out of LIBOR may increase our interest expense or affect the value of the financial obligations to be held or issued by us that are linked to LIBOR, which may adversely affect our financial condition.
As of December 31, 2022, borrowings under our Company Credit Facility bear interest based upon various reference rates, including LIBOR. LIBOR is expected to transition to Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements backed by treasury securities, on or about June 30, 2023. We believe that our credit agreement allows SOFR to be used as the new reference rate upon LIBOR's discontinuance. However, our interest expense could increase and our available cash flow for general corporate requirements may be adversely affected. Additionally, the phase-out of LIBOR may cause disruption in the overall financial markets and other reforms could have an adverse impact on the market for, or value of, any LIBOR-linked securities, loans, and other financial obligations or extensions of credit held by or due to us or on our overall financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Associated with Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures
Mergers and acquisitions may not perform as expected and we may not realize the savings expected from divestitures, which may cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
The market price of our common stock is generally subject to volatility, and there can be no assurances regarding the level or stability of our share price at any time. The market price of our common stock may decline as a result of acquisitions and divestitures if, among other things, we are unable to achieve the expected cost and revenue synergies or growth in earnings, the operational cost savings estimates are not realized as rapidly or to the extent anticipated, the transaction costs related to the acquisitions or divestitures are greater than expected or if any financing related to the transactions is on unfavorable terms. The market price also may decline if we do not achieve the perceived benefits of the acquisitions and divestitures as rapidly or to the extent anticipated by financial or industry analysts or if the effect of the acquisitions and divestitures on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows is not consistent with the expectations of financial or industry analysts.
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We may be unable to successfully integrate our existing business with acquired businesses and realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions.
We may acquire health plans participating in government-sponsored healthcare programs and specialty services businesses, contract rights, and related assets of other health plans both in our existing service areas and in new markets and start-up operations in new markets or new products in existing markets. Although we review the records of companies or businesses we plan to acquire, it is possible that we could assume unanticipated liabilities or adverse operating conditions. In addition, the success of acquisitions we make will depend, in part, on our ability to successfully combine the existing business of Centene with such acquired businesses and realize the anticipated benefits, including synergies, cost savings, growth in earnings, innovation, and operational efficiencies, from the combinations. If we are unable to achieve these objectives within the anticipated time frame, or at all, the anticipated benefits may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected and the value of our common stock may be harmed.
The integration of acquired businesses with our existing business is a complex, costly, and time-consuming process. The integration may result in material challenges, including, without limitation:
•the diversion of management's attention from ongoing business concerns and performance shortfalls as a result of the devotion of management's attention to the integration;
•managing a larger company;
•maintaining employee morale and retaining key management and other employees;
•the possibility of faulty assumptions underlying expectations regarding the integration process;
•retaining existing business and operational relationships and attracting new business and operational relationships;
•consolidating corporate and administrative infrastructures and eliminating duplicative operations;
•coordinating geographically separate organizations;
•unanticipated issues in integrating information technology, communications, and other systems;
•unanticipated changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including the ACA and any regulations enacted thereunder;
•unforeseen expenses or delays associated with the acquisition and/or integration;
•achieving actual cost savings at the anticipated levels; and
•decreases in premiums paid under government-sponsored healthcare programs by any state in which we operate.
Many of these factors will be outside of our control and any one of them could result in delays, increased costs, decreases in the amount of expected revenues, and diversion of management's time and energy, which could materially affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Our ability to successfully manage the expanded business following any given acquisition will depend, in part, upon management's ability to design and implement strategic initiatives that address not only the integration of two independent stand-alone companies, but also the increased scale and scope of the combined business with its associated increased costs and complexity. There can be no assurances that we will be successful in managing our expanded operations as a result of acquisitions or that we will realize the expected growth in earnings, operating efficiencies, cost savings, and other benefits.
Our business and results of operations may be materially adversely affected if we fail to manage and complete divestitures.
We regularly evaluate our portfolio to determine whether an asset or business is still consistent with our business strategy or whether there may be a more advantaged owner for that asset or business. When we decide to sell assets or a business, we may encounter difficulty finding buyers or alternative exit strategies, which could delay the achievement of our business strategy. Further, divestitures may be delayed due to failure to obtain required approvals on a timely basis, if at all, from governmental authorities, or may become more difficult to execute due to conditions placed upon approval that could, among other things, delay or prevent us from completing a transaction, or otherwise restrict our ability to realize the expected financial or strategic goals of a transaction. We might have financial exposure in a divested business, such as through minority equity ownership, financial or performance guarantees, indemnities, or other obligations, such that conditions outside of our control might negate the expected benefits of the disposition.
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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
We own our corporate office headquarters buildings and land located in St. Louis, Missouri, which is used by each of our reportable segments. We generally lease space in the states where our health plans, specialty companies, and claims processing facilities operate. We are required by various insurance and regulatory authorities to have offices in the service areas where we provide benefits.
In connection with the adoption of a more modern, flexible work environment, we undertook a real estate optimization initiative to evaluate future real estate needs and downsize our real estate footprint for owned and leased properties. As a result of this evaluation, we substantially changed the use or abandoned various properties and recognized an impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2022.
We believe our current facilities are adequate to meet our operational needs for the foreseeable future.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
A description of the legal proceedings to which we and our subsidiaries are a party is contained in Note 18. Contingenciesto the consolidated financial statements included in Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Mattersand Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market for Common Stock
Our common stock has been traded and quoted on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol "CNC" since October 16, 2003.
Stockholders
As of February 17, 2023, there were1,036 holders of record of our common stock.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In 2022, our Board of Directors authorized increases to the Company's existing stock repurchase program, including $3.0 billion in June 2022 and an additional $2.0 billion in December 2022. With these increases, the Company is authorized to repurchase up to $6.0 billion.
The stock repurchase program is effected primarily through regular open-market purchases (which may include repurchase plans designed to comply with Rule 10b5-1 and accelerated share repurchases), the amounts and timing of which are subject to our discretion as part of our capital allocation strategy, and may be based upon general market conditions and the prevailing price and trading volumes of our common stock. No duration has been placed on the repurchase program. We reserve the right to discontinue the repurchase program at any time.
Issuer Purchases of Equity SecuritiesFourth Quarter 2022(Shares in thousands)
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Stock Performance Graph
The graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock for the period from December 31, 2017 to December 31, 2022, with the cumulative total return of the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Managed Healthcare Index and the Standard & Poor's 500 over the same period. Standard & Poor's 500 is included because our common stock is within the index. The graph assumes an investment of $100 on December 31, 2017 in our common stock (at the last reported sale price on such day), the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Managed Healthcare Index, and the Standard & Poor's 500 and assumes the reinvestment of any dividends.
December 31,
In accordance with the rules of the SEC, the information contained in the Stock Performance Graph on this page shall not be deemed to be "soliciting material," or to be "filed" with the SEC or subject to the SEC's Regulation 14A, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent that Centene specifically requests that the information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporates it by reference into a document filed under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act.
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Item 6. Reserved.
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ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this filing. The discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A."Risk Factors" of this Form 10-K. The following discussion and analysis does not include certain items related to the year ended December 31, 2020, including year-to-year comparisons between the year ended December 31, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020. For a comparison of our results of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, see Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 22, 2022.
EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Mission
We are a leading healthcare enterprise, committed to helping people live healthier lives, with an established expertise in lower-income and medically complex populations. We provide access to high-quality healthcare, innovative programs, and a wide range of health solutions that help families and individuals get well, stay well, and be well. We believe that our local approach enables us to provide accessible, quality, culturally sensitive healthcare coverage to our communities.
We feel we have a competitive advantage being on the ground, enabling us to establish strong relationships with our partners and providing us with first-hand knowledge, which allows us to provide the best possible care to our members. We have a commitment to the communities and people we serve to transform their health at the local level. In 2022, when members of the Uvalde, Texas community faced unbelievable tragedy, we showed up to help serve their short-term needs and have since made an investment in a multipurpose community center in the city through our charitable foundation, just one example of our mission in action.
Our record of organic growth and strategic acquisitions has given us the size, scale, and privilege of providing local high-quality and affordable health care to more than 27 million Americans. As of December 31, 2022, we were the largest Medicaid health insurer in the country, serving 16 million Medicaid recipients in 29 states. We were the largest Marketplace carrier, serving 2.1 million members across 27 states, and served 1.5 million Medicare members across 36 states, with the highest concentration of lower-income, medically complex members.
While we are transforming our operating model to take advantage of our national scale, our commitment to remain local in the communities we serve will not change.
General
Our results of operations depend on our ability to manage expenses associated with health benefits (including estimated costs incurred) and selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs. We measure operating performance based upon two key ratios. The health benefits ratio (HBR) represents medical costs as a percentage of premium revenues, excluding premium tax revenues that are separately billed, and reflects the direct relationship between the premiums received and the medical services provided. The SG&A expense ratio represents SG&A costs as a percentage of premium and service revenues, excluding premium taxes separately billed.
Value Creation Plan
We established our Value Creation Plan to drive margin expansion by leveraging our scale and generating sustainable, profitable growth. In addition to creating shareholder value, this plan is an ongoing effort to modernize and improve how we work in order to propel our organization to new levels of success and elevate the member and provider experiences. The three major pillars of the Value Creation Plan are: SG&A expense savings, gross margin expansion, and strategic capital management.
As part of our Value Creation Plan, we are assessing our portfolio and are focused on making strategic decisions and investments to create additional value in the short-term and to seek opportunities that position the organization for long-term strength, profitability, growth, and innovation. We continue to move forward with our value creation initiatives including the streamlining of certain operations, such as key call centers and utilization management, and have begun early-stage platform consolidations. Building on that foundation, we intend to drive sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value to our members and shareholders.
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During 2022, we completed the following key milestones in our Value Creation Plan:
•Initiated a reduction of our real estate footprint following a strategic review of our real estate portfolio resulting in a $1.6 billion impairment related to leased and owned real estate and related fixed assets. This represents an approximate 70% decrease in domestic leased space and is expected to result in annualized lease expense savings of more than $200 million.
•Signed a multi-year contract with Express Scripts, Inc. to provide our pharmacy benefit services, commencing in 2024. The new pharmacy benefits management (PBM) contract is expected to drive significant value in 2024 and beyond.
•Completed the divestitures of PANTHERx Rare (PANTHERx), our Spanish and Central European businesses, and Magellan Rx.
•Completed $3.0 billion of common stock repurchases, $318 million of senior note repurchases, repaid our $180 million construction loan, and repaid over $100 million in revolver and term loan borrowings. Common stock and debt repurchases were funded primarily through proceeds from divestitures and free cash flow generated from operations.
In addition, in January 2023, we completed the divestitures of Magellan Specialty Health, Centurion, and HealthSmart.
Segments Update
In early 2023, and in conjunction with our updated strategic plan, executive leadership realignment, and corresponding 2023 divestitures, we have revised the way we manage the business, evaluate performance, and allocate resources, resulting in an updated segment structure comprised of (1) a Medicaid segment, (2) a Medicare segment, (3) a Commercial segment and (4) an Other segment. We will begin reporting under this new segment structure in 2023.
Acquisitions and Divestitures
In January 2022, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Magellan Health, Inc. (Magellan). Total consideration for the acquisition was $2.5 billion, consisting of $2.4 billion in cash and $60 million related to the fair value of replacement equity awards associated with pre-combination service.
In connection with our portfolio review and strategic plan to exit the PBM business, during 2022 we divested PANTHERx and Magellan Rx. We completed the divestiture of PANTHERx in July 2022 for $1.4 billion and recognized a gain of $490 million, or $382 million after-tax. In December 2022, we completed the divestiture of Magellan Rx for $1.3 billion and recognized a gain of $269 million, or $99 million after-tax.
Additionally, as part of our review of strategic alternatives for our international portfolio, in November 2022 we divested our ownership stakes in our Spanish and Central European businesses and as a result recorded an impairment charge of $163 million, or $140 million after-tax.
The above-noted acquisitions and divestitures are significant drivers of the year-over-year variances discussed throughout this section.
In January 2023, we completed the divestitures of Magellan Specialty Health, Centurion, our prison healthcare business, and HealthSmart, our third party health plan administration business.
Regulatory Trends and Uncertainties
The United States government, policymakers, and healthcare experts continue to discuss and debate various elements of the United States healthcare model. We remain focused on the promise of delivering access to high-quality, affordable healthcare to all of our members and believe we are well positioned to meet the needs of the changing healthcare landscape.
In contrast to previous executive and legislative efforts to restrict or limit certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted in March 2021, contained provisions aimed at leveraging Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace to expand health insurance coverage and affordability to consumers. The ARPA authorized an additional $1.9 trillion in federal spending to address the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and contained several provisions designed to increase coverage of certain healthcare services, expand eligibility and benefits, incentivize state Medicaid expansion, and adjust federal financing for state Medicaid programs, the ultimate impact of which remain uncertain.
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The ARPA initially enhanced eligibility for the advance premium tax credit for enrollees in the Health Insurance Marketplace, which was extended through the 2025 tax year by the Inflation Reduction Act, enacted in August 2022.
In October 2022, the Treasury Department issued a final rule to address the family glitch in the ACA, which relates to determining who is eligible for premium subsidies. We see this as a significant step in making Marketplace more affordable for working families.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and may continue to affect our business. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted in March 2020, increased federal matching rates for state Medicaid programs with a requirement that states suspend Medicaid redeterminations throughout the PHE. As a result, since the onset of the PHE, our Medicaid membership has increased by 3.2 million members (excluding the new North Carolina and Missouri membership). The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, signed into law on December 29, 2022, delinked the Medicaid continuous coverage requirements from the PHE and, as a result, states can begin Medicaid disenrollments on April 1, 2023. All pending redeterminations must be initiated within 12 months, by March 31, 2024, and be concluded by May 31, 2024. Our Ambetter Health product covers the majority of our Medicaid states, and we believe we are among the best positioned in the healthcare market to capture those transitioning coverage through redeterminations. We remain agile in working with our state partners and are prepared to support our members and promote continuity of coverage when redeterminations resume. Although Medicaid continuous coverage requirements were decoupled from the PHE, we are working to prepare for other provisions still tied to the end of the PHE including COVID costs and coverage requirements, various other payment structures, and electronic prescribing of controlled substances.
We have more than three decades of experience, spanning seven presidents from both sides of the aisle, in delivering high-quality healthcare services on behalf of states and the federal government to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families. This expertise has allowed us to deliver cost-effective services to our government sponsors and our members. While healthcare experts maintain a focus on personalized healthcare technology, we continue to make strategic decisions to accelerate the development of new software platforms and analytical capabilities. We continue to believe we have both the capacity and capability to successfully navigate industry changes to the benefit of our members, customers, and shareholders.
For additional information regarding regulatory trends and uncertainties, see Part I, Item 1 "Business - Regulation" and Item 1A, "Risk Factors."
2022 Highlights
Our financial performance for 2022 is summarized as follows:
•Year-end membership of 27.1 million, an increase of 1.2 million members, or 5% over 2021.
•Total revenues of $144.5 billion, representing 15% growth year-over-year.
•Premium and service revenues of $135.5 billion, representing 15% growth year-over-year.
•HBR of 87.7% for 2022, compared to 87.8% for 2021.
•SG&A expense ratio of 8.6% for 2022, compared to 8.1% for 2021.
•Adjusted SG&A expense ratio of 8.4% for 2022, compared to 7.9% for 2021.
•Diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.07 for 2022, compared to $2.28 for 2021.
•Adjusted diluted EPS of $5.78 for 2022, compared to $5.15 for 2021.
•Operating cash flows of $6.3 billion, or 5.2 times net earnings, for 2022.
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A reconciliation from GAAP diluted EPS to Adjusted Diluted EPS is highlighted below, and additional detail is provided under the heading "Non-GAAP Financial Presentation":
Year Ended December 31,
GAAP diluted EPS attributable to Centene $ 2.07 $ 2.28
Amortization of acquired intangible assets 1.40 1.31
Acquisition and divestiture related expenses 0.36 0.31
Income tax effects of adjustments (2) (0.70) (0.91)
Adjusted Diluted EPS $ 5.78 $ 5.15
(1) Other adjustments include the following pre-tax items:
2022:
(a) real estate impairments of $1,642 million, or $2.82 per share ($2.08 after-tax); PANTHERx divestiture gain of $490 million, or $0.84 per share ($0.65 after-tax); impairments of assets associated with the divestitures of our Spanish and Central European, Centurion, and HealthSmart businesses of $458 million, or $0.78 per share ($0.60 after-tax); Magellan Rx divestiture gain of $269 million, or $0.46 per share ($0.17 after-tax); Health Net Federal Services asset impairment of $233 million, or $0.40 per share ($0.39 after-tax); gain on debt extinguishment of $27 million, or $0.04 per share ($0.03 after-tax); increase to the previously reported gain on the divestiture of U.S. Medical Management (USMM) due to the finalization of working capital adjustments of $13 million, or $0.02 per share ($0.02 after-tax); and costs related to the PBM legal settlement of $6 million, or $0.01 per share ($0.00 after-tax).
2021:
(b) PBM legal settlement expense of $1,264 million, or $2.14 per share ($1.76 after-tax); gain related to the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest of Circle Health of $309 million, or $0.52 per share ($0.52 after-tax); impairment of our equity method investment in RxAdvance of $229 million, or $0.39 per share ($0.32 after-tax); gain related to the divestiture of USMM of $150 million, or $0.25 per share ($0.23 after-tax); debt extinguishment costs of $125 million, or $0.21 per share ($0.16 after-tax); reduction to the previously reported gain on divestiture of certain products of our Illinois health plan of $62 million, or $0.10 per share ($0.08 after-tax); and severance costs due to a restructuring of $54 million, or $0.09 per share ($0.06 after-tax).
(2) The income tax effects of adjustments are based on the effective income tax rates applicable to each adjustment. In addition, the year ended December 31, 2022, includes tax expense of $107 million, or $0.18 per share, related to the Magellan Specialty Health divestiture and a $15 million, or $0.03 per share, tax benefit related to the RxAdvance impairment.
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Current and Future Operating Drivers
The following items contributed to our results of operations as compared to the previous year:
Medicaid
•In October 2022, the state of Ohio removed pharmacy services in connection with the state's transition from managed care to a single PBM.
•In July 2022, our subsidiary, Home State Health, commenced the MO HealthNet Managed Care General Plan and Specialty Plan contracts. Under the General Plan, Home State Health continues to serve multiple MO HealthNet programs including Children's Health Insurance members and the state's newly implemented Medicaid expansion population, across all regions of Missouri. Additionally, as the sole provider of the newly awarded Specialty Plan, Home State Health now serves approximately 52,100 foster children and children receiving adoption subsidy assistance.
•In January 2022, the state of California carved out pharmacy services in connection with the state's transition of pharmacy services from managed care to fee-for-service.
•In July 2021, we began operating under two new statewide contracts in Hawaii to continue administering covered services to eligible Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) members for medically necessary medical, behavioral health, and long-term services and support and to continue administering services through the Community Care Services program in partnership with the Hawaii Department of Human Services' Med-QUEST Division.
•In July 2021, our subsidiary, WellCare of North Carolina, commenced operations under a new statewide contract in North Carolina providing Medicaid managed care services. In addition, we also began operating under a new contract to provide Medicaid managed care services in three regions in North Carolina through our provider-led North Carolina joint venture, Carolina Complete Health.
•Beginning in 2020, the federal government issued a PHE which suspended Medicaid eligibility redeterminations. The ongoing suspensions, which have been extended to April 2023, have driven increased membership.
Medicare
•In 2022, we experienced strong Medicare membership growth as a result of the 2022 annual enrollment period. We introduced WellCare into three new states, as well as expanded coverage to 327 new counties across existing states. We now serve members in 36 states across the country in 1,575 counties. We were negatively impacted by the decrease in the number of our Medicare members in a 4.0 star or above plan for the 2021 rating year (2022 revenue year).
Commercial
•In 2022, our Health Insurance Marketplace product, Ambetter Health, was introduced into five new states, as well as expanded coverage to 274 new counties across 13 existing states. During 2022, we served Marketplace members in 27 states across the country in 1,480 counties. Additionally, we introduced three new Ambetter Health product offerings to address the growing needs of our members: Ambetter Value, Ambetter Select, and Ambetter Virtual Access.
Specialty and Other
•In December 2022, we completed the divestiture of Magellan Rx, which was part of the Magellan business acquired in January 2022.
•In November 2022, we completed the divestiture of our ownership stakes in our Spanish and Central European businesses, including Ribera Salud, Torrejón Salud, and Pro Diagnostics Group.
•In July 2022, we completed the divestiture of PANTHERx.
•In January 2022, we acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of Magellan.
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•In December 2021, we sold a majority stake in USMM, our physician home health business.
•In July 2021, we acquired the remaining interest in our equity method investment in Circle Health, one of the U.K.'s largest independent operators of hospitals.
We expect the following items to impact our future results of operations:
Medicaid
•In February 2023, our subsidiary, Buckeye Health Plan, commenced the Medicaid contract awarded by the Ohio Department of Medicaid to continue servicing members with quality healthcare, coordinated services, and benefits.
•In January 2023, our subsidiary, Delaware First Health, commenced its contract for the statewide Medicaid managed care programs.
•In January 2023, our subsidiary, Louisiana Healthcare Connections, commenced the Medicaid contract awarded by the Louisiana Department of Health to continue administering quality, integrated healthcare services to members across the state.
•In January 2023, our subsidiary, Managed Health Services, commenced the contract awarded by the Indiana Department of Administration to continue serving Hoosier Healthwise and Health Indiana Plan members with Medicaid and Medicaid alternative managed care and care coordination services.
•In December 2022, our subsidiary, Health Net of California, was selected by the California Department of Health Care Services for direct Medicaid contracts in 10 counties, including Los Angeles (in which a portion will be subcontracted). The contracts are anticipated to begin in January 2024.
•In September 2022, our subsidiary, Nebraska Total Care, was awarded the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services statewide Medicaid managed care contract. Under the new contract, Nebraska Total Care will continue serving the state's Medicaid Managed Care Program, known as Heritage Health. The new contract term is five years and includes the option for two, one-year renewals. The contract is anticipated to begin in January 2024, subject to the resolution of third-party protests.
•In September 2022, our subsidiary, Superior HealthPlan (Superior), was awarded a new, six-year contract by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to continue providing youth in foster care with healthcare coverage through the STAR Health Medicaid program. Superior has been the sole provider of STAR Health coverage since the program launched in 2008. The contract is anticipated to begin in September 2023.
•In August 2022, our subsidiary, Magnolia Health Plan (Magnolia), was awarded the Mississippi Division of Medicaid contract. Under the new contract, Magnolia will continue serving the state's Coordinated Care Organization Program, which will consist of the Mississippi Coordinated Access Network and the Mississippi CHIP. The contract is anticipated to begin in July 2023, subject to the resolution of third-party protests.
•In August 2021, our subsidiaries, Carolina Complete Health and WellCare of North Carolina, were selected to coordinate physical and/or other health services with Local Management Entities/Managed Care Organizations under the state's new Tailored Plans. The Tailored Plans, which are expected to launch in April 2023, are integrated health plans designed for individuals with significant behavioral health needs and intellectual/developmental disabilities.
•We expect Medicaid eligibility redeterminations to begin in April 2023 and extend over a 14-month period, concluding in May 2024. In addition to delinking the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision from the PHE, the year-end spending bill also outlines key coverage expansion provisions, including CHIP coverage. The provision requires states to provide 12 months of continuous coverage for children under Medicaid and CHIP effective January of 2024 and made the state option to extend coverage for postpartum women for up to 12 months permanent.
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Medicare
•In October 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published updated Medicare Star quality ratings for the 2023 rating year, which impacts the 2024 revenue year. The decrease in Star quality ratings is driven by the expiration of certain disaster relief provisions as well as deterioration in select metrics. Over the past year, our leadership team launched a multi-year plan to build and improve quality across the enterprise with a strong focus on enhanced patient experience and access to care. We expect to begin to see the results of these efforts with the 2024 rating year (2025 revenue year).
Commercial
•In January 2023, our Health Insurance Marketplace product, Ambetter Health, expanded into Alabama and extended its footprint by more than 60 counties across 12 existing states. In total, the Marketplace plan is available in more than 1,500 counties across 28 states.
Specialty and Other
•In January 2023, we completed the divestitures of Magellan Specialty Health, Centurion, our prison healthcare business, and HealthSmart, our third party health plan administration business.
•In December 2022, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced that the TRICARE Managed Care Support Contracts were not awarded to our subsidiary, Health Net Federal Services. Our current contract for health care delivery services is in place through early 2024.
•We continue to execute on Value Creation Plan initiatives including the award of the new PBM contract commencing in 2024, portfolio review, real estate optimization, stock and debt repurchases, along with an ongoing focus on quality improvement actions. We expect these actions will drive future margin expansion, create shareholder value, and improve the experience for our members and providers.
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MEMBERSHIP
From December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022, we increased our managed care membership by 1.2 million, or 5%. The following table sets forth our membership by line of business:
December 31,
(3) Membership includes Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis is based on our Consolidated Statements of Operations, which reflect our results of operations for years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP) ($ in millions, except per share data in dollars):
Selling, general and administrative expenses 11,589 9,601 21 %
Amortization of acquired intangible assets 817 770 6 %
Legal settlement — 1,250 n.m.
Debt extinguishment 30 (125) n.m.
Interest expense (665) (665) — %
Earnings before income tax expense 1,962 1,813 8 %
Loss attributable to noncontrolling interests — 11 n.m.
Net earnings attributable to Centene Corporation $ 1,202 $ 1,347 (11) %
n.m.: not meaningful
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Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2021
Total Revenues
The following table sets forth supplemental revenue information for the year ended December 31, ($ in millions):
Total revenues increased 15% in the year ended December 31, 2022, over the corresponding period in 2021, primarily due to Medicaid membership growth resulting from the ongoing suspension of eligibility redeterminations, membership growth in the Medicare business, our acquisition of Magellan, and the commencement of our contracts in North Carolina in mid-2021.
Operating Expenses
Medical Costs
The HBR for the year ended December 31, 2022 was 87.7%, compared to 87.8% in 2021. The HBR for 2022 was positively impacted by disciplined Marketplace pricing and 2021 risk adjustment recorded in 2022, partially offset by a return to more normalized Medicaid utilization and higher flu costs compared to 2021. Additionally, 2021 was negatively impacted by unfavorable 2020 risk adjustment.
Cost of Services
Cost of services increased by $2.1 billion in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, driven by the acquisition of Magellan. The cost of service ratio for the year ended December 31, 2022 was 84.2%, compared to 86.4% in 2021. The decrease in the cost of service ratio was driven by recent acquisitions and divestitures.
Selling, General & Administrative Expenses
The SG&A expense ratio was 8.6% for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to 8.1% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Adjusted SG&A expense ratio was 8.4% for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to 7.9% for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increases were due to the additions of the Magellan and Circle Health businesses, which operate at higher SG&A ratios due to the nature of their respective businesses. Increases were also driven by costs associated with Medicare marketing, including annual enrollment, value creation investment spending, and variable compensation. These impacts were partially offset by the leveraging of expenses over higher revenues as a result of increased membership.
Impairment
During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded total impairment charges of $2.3 billion primarily driven by $1.6 billion associated with our ongoing real estate optimization initiative, consisting of leased and owned real estate assets and related fixed assets. Additionally, we recorded impairment charges associated with the divestitures of our Spanish and Central European, Centurion, and HealthSmart businesses of $458 million. We also recorded a $233 million impairment charge related to Health Net Federal Services business as a result of the DoD's December 2022 announcement to not award Health Net Federal Services a TRICARE Managed Care Support Contract.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded a $229 million impairment of our equity method investment in RxAdvance, a pharmacy benefit manager.
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Legal Settlement
During the second quarter of 2021, we recorded a legal settlement reserve estimate of $1.25 billion (inclusive of the states with which we have reached no-fault agreements) related to services previously provided by Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, Inc. (Envolve), which historically provided PBM and specialty pharmacy services, essentially during 2017 and 2018.
Other Income (Expense)
The following table summarizes the components of other income (expense) for the year ended December 31, ($ in millions):
Investment and other income $ 1,279 $ 819
Debt extinguishment 30 (125)
Other income (expense), net $ 644 $ 29
Investment and other income. Investment and other income increased by $460 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 2021, driven by the $490 million PANTHERx divestiture gain, the $269 million Magellan Rx divestiture gain, and higher interest rates on larger investment balances. The 2021 investment income was driven by the gain related to the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest of Circle Health of $309 million and the gain related to the divestiture of USMM of $150 million.
Debt extinguishment. In 2022, we repurchased $95 million of our 4.25% Senior Notes due 2027 and $223 million of our 4.625% Senior Notes due 2029 through our senior note debt repurchase program, resulting in a pre-tax gain on extinguishment of $14 million. Additionally, we recognized a $13 million pre-tax gain on the extinguishment of debt related to the refinancing of debt for our Circle Health subsidiary. The 2022 debt extinguishment also includes an immaterial gain related to the redemption of Magellan's outstanding Senior Notes in January 2022.
In 2021, we redeemed all of our outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2026 and all WellCare Health Plans, Inc.'s outstanding 5.375% Senior Notes due 2026, including all premiums and accrued interest. We recognized a pre-tax loss on extinguishment of $79 million, including the call premium, the write-off of the unamortized premium and debt issuance costs, and expenses related to the redemptions. Additionally, we tendered or redeemed all of our outstanding $2.2 billion 4.75% Senior Notes, due 2025, and recognized a pre-tax loss on extinguishment of approximately $46 million. The loss includes the call premium and the write-off of unamortized premium and debt issuance costs.
Interest expense. Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $665 million compared to $665 million for the corresponding period in 2021.
Income Tax Expense
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded an income tax expense of $760 million on pre-tax earnings of $2.0 billion, or an effective tax rate of 38.8%. The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2022 is driven by the tax effects of pending and completed divestitures and impairments associated with our ongoing portfolio review, including the Magellan Rx divestiture gain, the non-deductible impairment of our Health Net Federal Services business, and tax impacts related to the reclassification of the Magellan Specialty Health business to held for sale. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we recorded income tax expense of $477 million on pre-tax earnings of $1.8 billion, or an effective tax rate of 26.3%, which reflects the non-taxable gain related to the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest in Circle Health, the partial non-deductibility of the legal settlement reserve, and the gain on the sale of our majority stake in USMM.
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Segment Results
The following table summarizes our consolidated operating results by segment for the year ended December 31, ($ in millions):
Total Revenues
Earnings from Operations
Specialty Services (595) (5) n.m.
n.m.: not meaningful
Managed Care
Total revenues increased 12% in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, driven by organic Medicaid growth, primarily due to the ongoing suspension of eligibility redeterminations, membership growth in the Medicare business, and the commencement of our contracts in North Carolina. Earnings from operations increased $124 million between years primarily as a result of Medicaid and Medicare membership growth, favorable Marketplace 2021 risk adjustment recorded in 2022, and lower traditional utilization in the Marketplace business, partially offset by the $1.6 billion pre-tax real estate impairment. Additionally, 2021 was negatively impacted by the PBM legal settlement expense of $1.25 billion and higher utilization in the Marketplace business in 2021.
Specialty Services
Total revenues increased 22% in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the corresponding period in 2021, resulting primarily from our acquisition of Magellan, increased services associated with membership growth in the Managed Care segment, and new contracts in our correctional business. Earnings from operations decreased $590 million between years, primarily due to divestitures and impairments. The decrease was partially offset by favorable Magellan operations and the prior year impairment of our equity method investment in RxAdvance.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The following table is a condensed schedule of cash flows used in the discussion of liquidity and capital resources ($ in millions):
Year Ended December 31,
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 6,261 $ 4,205
Net cash (used in) investing activities (2,921) (3,299)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (4,197) 1,362
Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities
Normal operations are funded primarily through operating cash flows and borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. In 2022, operating activities provided cash of $6.3 billion, or 5.2 times net earnings, compared to $4.2 billion in 2021. Cash flows provided by operations in 2022 were driven by net earnings before the non-cash real estate and divestiture related impairment charges and an increase in medical claims liabilities driven by the timing of claims payments.
Cash flows provided by operations in 2021 were due to net earnings before the legal settlement reserve, an increase in state risk sharing mechanism payables, partially offset by risk adjustment and minimum medical loss ratio (MLR) payments for the Health Insurance Marketplace 2020 plan year.
Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities
Investing activities used cash of $2.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022 and $3.3 billion in 2021. Cash flows used in investing activities in 2022 primarily consisted of net additions to the investment portfolio of our regulated subsidiaries and our acquisition of Magellan, partially offset by our PANTHERx and Magellan Rx divestiture proceeds.
We spent $1.0 billion and $910 million in the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, on capital expenditures for system enhancements, market growth, and our corporate and regional buildings.
As of December 31, 2022, our investment portfolio consisted primarily of fixed-income securities with a weighted average duration of 3.4 years. We had unregulated cash and investments of $1.4 billion at December 31, 2022. The majority of the excess unregulated cash and cash equivalents was utilized in January 2023 to complete planned pass-through payments. At December 31, 2021 we had unregulated cash and investments of $3.4 billion, which was substantially reduced in January 2022 to fund the Magellan acquisition. Unregulated cash and investments include private equity investments and company owned life insurance contracts.
Cash flows used in investing activities in 2021 primarily consisted of the net additions to the investment portfolio of our regulated subsidiaries (including transfers from cash and cash equivalents to long-term investments), acquisition and divestiture activity primarily related to the acquisition of the remaining 60% interest of Circle Health, and capital expenditures, offset by proceeds received related to the sale of our majority interest in USMM.
Cash Flows (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities
Financing activities used cash of $4.2 billion in the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to providing cash of $1.4 billion in the comparable period in 2021. Financing activities in 2022 were driven by stock repurchases of $3.0 billion, the redemption of Magellan's outstanding debt of $535 million assumed in the transaction using Magellan's cash on hand, senior note debt repurchases of $318 million, and the repayment of our construction loan. In 2021, financing activities were driven by increased borrowings offset by debt repayments.
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Liquidity Metrics
We have a stock repurchase program authorizing us to repurchase common stock from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. In 2022, in preparation for the closing of divestitures as well as planning for the future, the Company's Board of Directors authorized up to a total of $6.0 billion of repurchases under the program.
In 2022, we repurchased a total of 35.7 million shares for $3.0 billion through our stock repurchase program, primarily funded through divestiture proceeds. A portion of the repurchases were completed through an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) agreement, which was executed in July 2022. At inception, we received an initial delivery of approximately 8.6 million shares representing 80% of the $1.0 billion notional amount. In October 2022, an additional 3.0 million shares were delivered upon settlement based upon the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) over the term of the agreement, less a discount. In total, 11.6 million shares were purchased through the $1.0 billion ASR.
We have approximately $2.8 billion remaining under the stock repurchase program as of December 31, 2022. No duration has been placed on the repurchase program. We reserve the right to discontinue the repurchase program at any time. Refer to Note 12. Stockholders' Equity for further information on stock repurchases.
As of December 31, 2022, we had an aggregate principal amount of $15.7 billion of senior notes issued and outstanding. The indentures governing our various maturities of senior notes contain limited restrictive covenants. As of December 31, 2022, we were in compliance with all covenants.
As part of our capital allocation strategy, we may decide to repurchase debt or raise capital through the issuance of debt in the form of senior notes. In 2022, the Company's Board of Directors also authorized a new $1.0 billion senior note debt repurchase program. During 2022, we repurchased $318 million of our par value senior notes for $300 million. As of December 31, 2022, there was $700 million available under the senior note debt repurchase program. Refer to Note 10. Debt for further information regarding the issuance and redemption of senior notes.
The credit agreement underlying our Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility contains customary covenants, as well as financial covenants, including, a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and a maximum debt to EBITDA ratio. Our maximum debt to EBITDA ratio under the credit agreement may not exceed 4.0 to 1.0. As of December 31, 2022, we had $58 million of borrowings outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility, $2.2 billion of borrowings outstanding under our Term Loan Facility, and we were in compliance with all covenants. As of December 31, 2022, there were no limitations on the availability of our Revolving Credit Facility as a result of the debt to EBITDA ratio.
In October 2017, we executed a $200 million non-recourse construction loan to fund the expansion of our corporate headquarters. In December 2022, we paid off the outstanding balance of the construction loan.
We had outstanding letters of credit of $217 million as of December 31, 2022, which were not part of our Revolving Credit Facility. The letters of credit bore weighted interest of 0.6% as of December 31, 2022. In addition, we had outstanding surety bonds of $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2022.
At December 31, 2022, our debt to capital ratio, defined as total debt divided by the sum of total debt and total equity, was 42.7%, compared to 41.2% at December 31, 2021. The debt to capital ratio increase was driven by stock repurchases in 2022. We utilize the debt to capital ratio as a measure, among others, of our leverage and financial flexibility.
At December 31, 2022, we had working capital, defined as current assets less current liabilities, of $1.7 billion, compared to $2.7 billion at December 31, 2021. Working capital was substantially reduced in January 2022 upon the closing of the Magellan acquisition for the purchase price payment and corresponding closing costs. We manage our short-term and long-term investments with the goal of ensuring that a sufficient portion is held in investments that are highly liquid and can be sold to fund short-term requirements as needed.
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we received dividends of $1.6 billion and $2.5 billion, respectively, from our regulated subsidiaries.
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2023 Expectations
During 2023, we expect to receive net dividends of approximately $2.1 billion from our regulated subsidiaries and expect to spend approximately $845 million in capital expenditures primarily associated with system enhancements.
We have material debt, short-term medical claims, lease, and contingencies obligations. Refer to Note 10. Debt, Note 8. Medical Claims Liability, Note 11. Leases, and Note 18. Contingencies, respectively, for further information.
Based on our operating plan, we expect that our available cash, cash equivalents and investments, cash from our operations, and cash available under our Revolving Credit Facility will be sufficient to finance our general operations and capital expenditures for at least 12 months from the date of this filing. While we are currently in a strong liquidity position and believe we have adequate access to capital, we may elect to increase borrowings on our Revolving Credit Facility. In addition, from time to time we may elect to raise additional funds for these and other purposes, either through issuance of debt or equity, the sale of investment securities, or otherwise, as appropriate. In addition, we may strategically pursue refinancing or redemption opportunities to extend maturities and/or improve terms of our indebtedness if we believe such opportunities are favorable to us.
We intend to continue to evaluate strategic actions in connection with our Value Creation Plan, targeting initiatives to improve productivity, efficiencies, and reduced organizational costs, as well as capital deployment activities, including stock repurchases, portfolio optimization, and the evaluation of refinancing opportunities.
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REGULATORY CAPITAL AND DIVIDEND RESTRICTIONS
Our operations are conducted through our subsidiaries. As managed care organizations (MCOs), most of our subsidiaries are subject to state regulations and other requirements that, among other things, require the maintenance of minimum levels of statutory capital, as defined by each state, and restrict the timing, payment, and amount of dividends and other distributions that may be paid to us. Generally, the amount of dividend distributions that may be paid by a regulated subsidiary without prior approval by state regulatory authorities is limited based on the entity's level of statutory net income and statutory capital and surplus.
As of December 31, 2022, our subsidiaries had aggregate statutory capital and surplus of $16.4 billion, compared with the required minimum aggregate statutory capital and surplus requirements of $8.0 billion. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we received dividends of $1.6 billion from and made $729 million of capital contributions to our regulated subsidiaries. For our subsidiaries that file with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), we estimate our Risk Based Capital (RBC) percentage to be in excess of 350% of the Authorized Control Level.
Under the California Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, as amended (Knox-Keene), certain of our California subsidiaries must comply with tangible net equity (TNE) requirements. Under these Knox-Keene TNE requirements, actual net worth less unsecured receivables and intangible assets must be more than the greater of (i) a fixed minimum amount, (ii) a minimum amount based on premiums, or (iii) a minimum amount based on healthcare expenditures, excluding capitated amounts.
Under the New York State Department of Health Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 10, Part 98, our New York subsidiary must comply with contingent reserve requirements. Under these requirements, net worth based upon admitted assets must equal or exceed a minimum amount based on annual net premium income.
The NAIC has adopted rules which set minimum risk-based capital requirements for insurance companies, MCOs, and other entities bearing risk for healthcare coverage. As of December 31, 2022, each of our health plans was in compliance with the risk-based capital requirements enacted in those states.
As a result of the above requirements and other regulatory requirements, certain of our subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on their ability to make dividend payments, loans, or other transfers of cash to their parent companies. Such restrictions, unless amended or waived or unless regulatory approval is granted, limit the use of any cash generated by these subsidiaries to pay our obligations. The maximum amount of dividends that can be paid by our insurance company subsidiaries without prior approval of the applicable state insurance departments is subject to restrictions relating to statutory surplus, statutory income, and unassigned surplus. As of December 31, 2022, the amount of capital and surplus or net worth that was unavailable for the payment of dividends or return of capital to us was $8.0 billion in the aggregate.
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RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
For this information, refer to Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included herein.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES
Our discussion and analysis of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources are based on our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere herein. Our accounting policies regarding intangible assets, medical claims liability, and revenue recognition are particularly important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and require the application of significant judgment by our management. As a result, they are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. We have reviewed these critical accounting policies and related disclosures with the Audit and Compliance Committee of our Board of Directors.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
We have made several acquisitions that have resulted in our recording of intangible assets. These intangible assets primarily consist of purchased contract rights and customer relationships, provider contracts, trade names, developed technologies, and goodwill. Key assumptions used in the valuation of these intangible assets include, but are not limited to, member attrition rates, contract renewal probabilities, revenue growth rates, expectations of profitability, and discount and royalty rates. We allocate the fair value of purchase consideration to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the fair value of consideration transferred over the fair value of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. Goodwill is generally attributable to the value of the synergies between the combined companies and the value of the acquired assembled workforce, neither of which qualifies for recognition as an intangible asset. At December 31, 2022, we had $18.8 billion of goodwill and $6.9 billion of other intangible assets.
Intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method over the following periods:
Intangible Asset Amortization Period
Purchased contract rights and customer relationships 3 - 21 years
Provider contracts 4 - 15 years
Trade names 7 - 20 years
Developed technologies 2 - 7 years
Our management evaluates whether events or circumstances have occurred that may affect the estimated useful life or the recoverability of the remaining balance of goodwill and other identifiable intangible assets. If the events or circumstances indicate that the remaining balance of the intangible asset or goodwill may be impaired, the potential impairment will be measured based upon the difference between the carrying amount of the intangible asset or goodwill and the fair value of such asset. Our management must make assumptions and estimates, such as the discount factor, future utility, and other internal and external factors, in determining the estimated fair values. While we believe these assumptions and estimates are appropriate, other assumptions and estimates could be applied and might produce significantly different results.
Goodwill is reviewed annually during the fourth quarter for impairment. In addition, an impairment analysis of intangible assets would be performed based on other factors. These factors include significant changes in membership, financial performance, state funding, medical contracts, and provider networks and contracts.
If a reporting unit's carrying amount exceeds its fair value, an entity will record an impairment charge based on that difference. The impairment charge will be limited to the amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. We first assess qualitative factors to determine if a quantitative impairment test is necessary. We generally do not calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless we determine, based on a qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. However, in certain circumstances, such as recent acquisitions, we may elect to perform a quantitative assessment without first assessing qualitative factors.
We do not believe any of our reporting units are currently at risk for impairment. However, as part of our Value Creation Plan, we are completing a portfolio review and may identify changes in strategic focus, which could result in future impairments of goodwill or intangibles based on market indicators at that time.
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Medical Claims Liability
Our medical claims liability includes claims reported but not yet paid, or inventory, estimates for claims incurred but not reported (IBNR), and estimates for the costs necessary to process unpaid claims at the end of each period. We estimate our medical claims liability using actuarial methods that are commonly used by health insurance actuaries and meet Actuarial Standards of Practice. These actuarial methods consider factors such as historical data for payment patterns, cost trends, product mix, seasonality, utilization of healthcare services, and other relevant factors.
Actuarial Standards of Practice generally require that the medical claims liability estimates be adequate to cover obligations under moderately adverse conditions. Moderately adverse conditions are situations in which the actual claims are expected to be higher than the otherwise estimated value of such claims at the time of estimate. The claims amounts ultimately settled will most likely be different than the estimate that satisfies the Actuarial Standards of Practice. We include in our IBNR an estimate for medical claims liability under moderately adverse conditions which represents the risk of adverse deviation of the estimates in our actuarial method of reserving.
We use our judgment to determine the assumptions to be used in the calculation of the required estimates. The assumptions we consider when estimating IBNR include, without limitation, claims receipt and payment experience (and variations in that experience), changes in membership, provider billing practices, healthcare service utilization trends, cost trends, product mix, seasonality, prior authorization of medical services, benefit changes, known outbreaks of disease or increased incidence of illness such as influenza, provider contract changes, changes to fee schedules, and the incidence of high dollar or catastrophic claims.
We apply various estimation methods depending on the claim type and the period for which claims are being estimated. For more recent periods, incurred non-inpatient claims are estimated based on historical per member per month claims experience adjusted for known factors. Incurred hospital inpatient claims are estimated based on known inpatient utilization data and prior claims experience adjusted for known factors. For older periods, we utilize an estimated completion factor based on our historical experience to develop IBNR estimates. The completion factor is an actuarial estimate of the percentage of claims that have been received or adjudicated as of the end of a reporting period relative to the estimate of the total ultimate incurred costs for that same period. When we commence operations in a new state or region, we have limited information with which to estimate our medical claims liability. See "Risk Factors - Failure to accurately estimate and price our medical expenses or effectively manage our medical costs or related administrative costs could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows." These approaches are consistently applied to each period presented.
Our development of the medical claims liability estimate is a continuous process which we monitor and refine on a monthly basis as additional claims receipts and payment information becomes available. As more complete claims information becomes available, we adjust the amount of the estimates and include the changes in estimates in medical costs in the period in which the changes are identified. In every reporting period, our operating results include the effects of more completely developed medical claims liability estimates associated with previously reported periods. We consistently apply our reserving methodology from period to period. As additional information becomes known to us, we adjust our actuarial models accordingly to establish medical claims liability estimates.
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The paid and received completion factors, claims per member per month, and per diem cost trend factors are the most significant factors affecting the IBNR estimate. The following table illustrates the sensitivity of these factors and the estimated potential impact on our operating results caused by changes in these factors based on December 31, 2022 data:
Completion Factors: (1) Cost Trend Factors: (2)
(In millions) (In millions)
While we believe our estimates are appropriate, it is possible future events could require us to make significant adjustments for revisions to these estimates. For example, a 1% increase or decrease in our estimated medical claims liability would have affected net earnings by $103 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, excluding the effect of any return of premium, risk corridor, or minimum MLR programs. The estimates are based on our historical experience, terms of existing contracts, our observance of trends in the industry, information provided by our providers, and information available from other outside sources.
The change in medical claims liability is summarized as follows (in millions):
Year Ended December 31,
Less: reinsurance recoverable 23 23 20
Incurred related to:
Paid related to:
Plus: reinsurance recoverable 26 23 23
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Medical claims are usually paid within a few months of the member receiving service from the physician or other healthcare provider. As a result, the liability generally is described as having a "short-tail," which causes less than 5% of our medical claims liability as of the end of any given year to be outstanding the following year. We believe that substantially all the development of the estimate of medical claims liability as of December 31, 2022 will be known by the end of 2023.
Changes in estimates of incurred claims for prior years are primarily attributable to reserving under moderately adverse conditions. Additionally, as a result of minimum HBR and other return of premium programs, approximately $198 million, $492 million, and $86 million of the "Incurred related to: Prior years" was recorded as a reduction to premium revenues in 2022, 2021, and 2020, respectively. Further, claims processing initiatives yielded increased claim payment recoveries and coordination of benefits related to prior year dates of service. Changes in medical utilization and cost trends and the effect of population health management initiatives may also contribute to changes in medical claim liability estimates. While we have evidence that population health management initiatives are effective on a case by case basis, these initiatives primarily focus on events and behaviors prior to the incurrence of the medical event and generation of a claim. Accordingly, any change in behavior, leveling of care, or coordination of treatment occurs prior to claim generation and as a result, the costs prior to the population health management initiative are not known by us. Additionally, certain population health management initiatives are focused on member and provider education with the intent of influencing behavior to appropriately align the medical services provided with the member's acuity. In these cases, determining whether the population health management initiative changed the behavior cannot be determined. Because of the complexity of our business, the number of states in which we operate, and the volume of claims that we process, we are unable to practically quantify the impact of these initiatives on our changes in estimates of IBNR.
The following are examples of population health management initiatives that may have contributed to the favorable development through lower medical utilization and cost trends:
•Appropriate leveling of care for neonatal intensive care unit hospital admissions, other inpatient hospital admissions, and observation admissions, in accordance with InterQual or other evidence-based criteria or clinical policy.
•Management of our pre-authorization list, monitoring for over utilized services, and stringent review of durable medical equipment and injectables.
•Emergency department programs designed to collaboratively work with hospitals and members to steer non-emergent care to a more appropriate and cost effective setting (through patient education, on-site alternative urgent care settings, etc.).
•Increased emphasis on care management and clinical rounding where nurse or social worker care managers assist selected high-risk members with the coordination of healthcare services in order to meet a patient's specific healthcare needs.
•Incorporation of disease management, which is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to chronic illnesses such as asthma.
•Prenatal and infant health programs.
Revenue Recognition
Our health plans generate revenues primarily from premiums received from the states in which we operate health plans, premiums received from our members and CMS for our Medicare product, and premiums from members of our commercial health plans. In addition to member premium payments, our Marketplace contracts also generate revenues from subsidies received from CMS. We generally receive a fixed premium per member per month pursuant to our contracts and recognize premium revenues during the period in which we are obligated to provide services to our members at the amount reasonably estimable. In some instances, our base premiums are subject to an adjustment, in the form of a risk score or risk adjustment, based on the acuity of our membership. Generally, the risk score or risk adjustment is determined by the state or CMS analyzing submissions of processed claims and medical record data to determine the acuity of our membership, often relative to the respective program's membership. We estimate the amount of risk score and risk adjustment based upon the processed claims and medical record data submitted and expected to be submitted to CMS and record revenues on a risk adjusted basis. Some contracts allow for additional premiums related to certain supplemental services provided such as maternity deliveries.
Our contracts with states may require us to maintain a minimum HBR or may require us to share cost-savings in excess of certain levels. In certain circumstances, including commercial plans, our plans may be required to return premium to the state or policyholders in the event costs are below established levels. We estimate the effect of these programs and recognize reductions in revenue in the current period. Other states may require us to meet certain performance and quality metrics in order to receive additional or full contractual revenue. For performance-based contracts, we do not recognize revenue subject to refund until data is sufficient to measure performance.
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Revenues are recorded based on membership and eligibility data provided by the states or CMS, which is adjusted on a monthly basis by the states or CMS for retroactive additions or deletions to membership data. These eligibility adjustments are estimated monthly and subsequent adjustments are made in the period known. We continuously review and update those estimates as new information becomes available. It is possible that new information could require us to make additional adjustments, which could be significant, to these estimates.
Our Medicare Advantage contracts are with CMS. CMS deploys a risk adjustment model which apportions premiums paid to all health plans according to health severity and certain demographic factors. The CMS risk adjustment model pays more for members whose medical history would indicate that they are expected to have higher medical costs. Under this risk adjustment methodology, CMS calculates the risk adjusted premium payment using diagnosis data from hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, physician treatment settings as well as prescription drug events. We and the healthcare providers collect, compile and submit the necessary and available diagnosis data to CMS within prescribed deadlines. We estimate risk adjustment revenues based upon the diagnosis data submitted and expected to be submitted to CMS and record revenues on a risk adjusted basis.
For qualifying low-income prescription drug benefit members, CMS pays for some, or all, of the member's monthly premium. We receive certain Part D prospective subsidy payments from CMS for these members as a fixed monthly per member amount, based on the estimated costs of providing prescription drug benefits over the plan year, as reflected in our bids. Approximately nine to ten months subsequent to the end of the plan year, or later in the case of the coverage gap discount subsidy, a settlement payment is made between CMS and our plans based on the difference between the prospective payments and actual claims experience.
Our specialty services generate revenues under contracts with state and federal programs, healthcare organizations, and other commercial organizations, as well as from our own subsidiaries. Revenues are recognized when the related services are provided or as ratably earned over the covered period of services. For performance-based measures in our contracts, revenue is recognized as data sufficient to measure performance is available. We recognize revenue related to administrative services under the TRICARE government-sponsored Managed Care Support Contract for the DoD's TRICARE program on a straight-line basis over the option period, when the fees become fixed and determinable. The TRICARE contract includes various performance-based measures. For each of the measures, an estimate of the amount that has been earned is made at each interim date, and revenue is recognized accordingly.