Health plans' results in 1st quarter are just mediocre

The state's major health insurers yesterday reported lackluster results for the first quarter that ended March 30.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the state's largest health insurance company with about 3 million members, cited high medical costs related to the flu. Its HMO Blue health plan lost $41.7 million on medical operations, partly offset by investment income of $25 million. The company's other health plans lost $3.4 million on operations and earned $21.4 million from investments. Combined, the organization lost $2.2 million on premium income of $1.7 billion.

Blue Cross also said it lost 35,000 members, in part through the continued acquisition of major Boston-based companies. For example, former Gillette employees were integrated into Proctor & Gamble's health plan, resulting in a loss of 17,000 Blue Cross members, the insurer said.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care said it lost $5.2 million on operations, offset by $9.1 million in investment income, resulting in net income of $3.9 million for the quarter. Revenue from premiums was $642.5 million.

"Harvard Pilgrim's first-quarter financial results are consistent with budgeted expectations as we continue to tightly manage medical and administrative costs," said Charles D. Baker, Harvard Pilgrim's chief executive. "We expect to end the year with a modest operating gain of about 1 percent."

Tufts Health Plan stood out from its peers. The company said it earned net income of $4 million, with investment income of $8.3 million, making up for an operating loss of $3.2 million and an income tax bill of $1.1 million. The results are an improvement from the same period last year, when the insurer earned net income of less than $1 million. Membership in March reached 678,000, an increase of 24,000 from September.

Jeffrey Krasner can be reached at krasner@globe.com.