INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plan operator WellPoint has reported a 10 percent drop in second-quarter profit on higher medical costs, and has narrowed its outlook for the full year.
For the three months ended June 30, the Indianapolis-based health insurer says earnings totaled $750.5 million, or $1.44 per share, including investment losses of 3 cents per share.
A year ago, when the company had many more shares outstanding, profit totaled $835.2 million, or $1.35 per share.
Revenue edged up 3 percent to $15.67 billion from $15.27 billion.
The results beat estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who expected profit of $1.36 per share on revenue of $15.61 billion.
Medical enrollment rose 1.5 percent year-over-year to 35.3 million members at June 30, but declined sequentially as WellPoint Inc. exited the Ohio Medicaid market. WellPoint expects medical membership to fall by 150,000 members in the second half of the year.
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