Excellus reports 50 percent drop in net income in 2022

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Central New York’s largest health insurer, reported net income of $58.9 million on $6.6 billion in premium revenue in 2022.

Excellus’s net income declined 50 percent from the $117.6 million the health insurer generated in 2021.

The Rochester–based nonprofit disclosed the figures in an annual financial report filed with the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The 2022 results amounted to a net income of $40 per member for the entire year, down from $78 in 2021, Excellus said.

The health plan last year spent $5.9 billion in medical benefits for its 1.5 million members.

“We remained focused on our nonprofit mission in 2022, spending more than $16.1 million every day covering our members’ health care costs,” Jim Reed, president and CEO of Excellus BCBS, said in a statement. “We’re also a company that aims for small financial margins … and in 2022 we met our goal of earning a positive net income of less than two percent of premium.”

Excellus appointed Reed to lead the health plan and its parent company, The Lifetime Healthcare Companies in May 2021. He succeeded Christopher Booth who retired after leading the company since 2013. The year 2022 marked Jim Reed’s first full year as CEO and president, Excellus said.

Excellus reserves stood at $1.8 billion at the end of 2022, or the equivalent of 100 days of claims and expenses. Reserves are like a savings account to be drawn upon for unforeseen higher expenses such as a pandemic, the insurer says.

Excellus also noted that it paid $428.5 million in federal and state taxes in 2022.