Non-Medical Expenditures of Health Insurance Companies in 2022

May 11, 2023

• Expenditures on “Salaries & Wages” grew by nearly $4 billion (B) in 2022, an increase of 8.6% compared to 2021. Insurers spent $38.9B on the same category in 2018, compared to $50.3B in 2022.
• “Outsourced Services” expenses, including electronic data processing (EDP), claims, and other services, have increased by over a billion dollars a year since at least 2018, with the biggest growth occurring from 2021 to 2022, where it grew by almost $1.6B, or 8.9%.
• “Commissions” expenditures have increased by 59.6% (almost $5.7B) since 2018, with the largest increase being in the most recent 2022 filings: nearly $2.1B in growth (a 15.7% increase), compared to $806.6B in 2018, $1.1B in 2020, and $1.7B in 2021.
• “Other Expenses” includes line-items such as Legal Fees & Expenses (up $215.8 million, or 31.9%, from 2021), Marketing & Advertising (up $474.7 million, or 14.9%), and Auditing, Actuarial, and Consulting Fees (up $1.4B, or 23.4%, since 2021).
• The combined totals of “Taxes, Licenses, and Fees,” excluding federal income taxes and representing 15% of health insurance companies’ non-medical expenses, increased by 14.1%, nearly $2.3B, from 2021 to 2022. The biggest change was from “State premium taxes”, which accounted for $848.2 million of that growth.

About the Data

The data used in this analysis brief was obtained from Mark Farrah Associates' Health Coverage Portal™ database and sourced from health insurance companies reporting through the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) via the Annual Analysis of Expenses – Underwriting and Investment Exhibit: Part 3 (NAIC). This analysis excludes a small number of plans that have not yet filed 2022 Annual data.

About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA)

Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Our product portfolio includes Health Coverage Portal™, County Health Coverage™, 5500 Employer Health ^plus, Medicare Business Online™, Medicare Benefits Analyzer™, and Health Plans USA™. For more information about these products, refer to the informational videos and brochures available under the Our Products section of the website or call 724-338-4100.

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