Medicare Supplement market leader UnitedHealthcare (UHC) released 1st quarter 2017 financials on April 18th, adding 85,000 Medicare Supplement lives in the 1st quarter, a 48% drop from the lives added during 1st quarter 2016. The UHC enrollment table features Standardized and Modernized policy in-force counts of 4,350,000 as of 3/31/2017, a 150,000 increase in the past 12 months. The 150,000 policy count growth over the last year is a 3.6% increase over the policy counts at 3/31/2016, UHC’s lowest annual growth rate over a 12 month period since 4th quarter 2010.
UnitedHealthcare continues to be the clear leader in the Medicare Supplement market, capturing over 30% of total market new sales and in-force policies in 2016. However, as indicated in the chart below, UHC’s Medicare Supplement growth rate has slowed steadily since 2013. CSG Actuarial attributes UHC’s slowing growth rates to lower market impact of age 65 enrollees and a weakened competitive position.
