Cost-Control Efforts Pay Off for Cigna in Second Quarter
Cigna Corp.’s ability to rein in medical costs during the second quarter of 2022 impressed equities analysts and led the health insurer on Aug. 4 to surpass the Wall Street consensus earnings per share (EPS) estimate while raising its full-year EPS outlook.
Cigna posted “the largest MLR beat among MCOs this quarter,” with its medical loss ratio of 80.7% coming in 220 basis points below the consensus estimate, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel pointed out in a note to investors. That comes after a 110 basis-point beat in the first quarter of 2022, he added.
And SVB Securities analyst Whit Mayo observed that “medical costs were well-controlled during the quarter,” with Cigna’s MLR “driving the bulk of the [company’s] outperformance.”