Elevance cuts MA footprint, exits standalone Medicare prescription drug plans

Dive Brief:

Elevance is trimming its Medicare footprint, especially in prescription drug plans, in a bid to improve the business’ profitability.

The insurer is exiting Medicare Advantage plans where “long-term economics are not sustainable,” Elevance CFO Mark Kaye said Thursday during the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference in Boston. Roughly 150,000 of Elevance’s 2.3 million individual and group MA members will be affected, according to Kaye.

Elevance is also fully exiting standalone Medicare Part D plans so that it can concentrate more resources on MA and dual special needs plans, which cover individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and typically come with high margins.

Dive Insight:

Kaye said the decisions were “not made lightly” but should help Elevance exit