Health Net Reports $2.4 Million Loss for Third Quarter
Woodland Hills-based health insurer Health Net reported a third-quarter net loss of $2.4 million, or two cents per share, down from net income of $69 million one year ago, the Los Angeles Times reports. Company officials attributed the loss to an $89 million one-time charge used to settle allegations that Health Net allegedly misrepresented the finances of Business Insurance Group, a workers' compensation subsidiary that the company sold in 1998. Without the one-time charge, the company would have reported a third-quarter net income of 74 cents per share, three cents higher than analysts' estimates and 19 cents higher than a year ago. The insurer's third-quarter government contract revenue rose 28% to $482.3 million, an increase related to its participation in Tricare, the managed health care plan for 8.7 million U.S. military personnel, veterans and their families. Third-quarter revenue increased to $2.8 billion, up 9% from $2.6 billion a year ago. Health Net increased its 2003 earnings forecast to between $2.68 and $2.70 per share, up from the previous forecast of between $2.63 and $2.67 per share. The company also reported that its enrollment dropped by 2%, mostly because it lost a contract with the CalPERS (White, Los Angeles Times, 11/5).
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