Updated: UnitedHealth Group's 2024 Revenue Grows to Reach $400.3 Billion

In 2024, UnitedHealth Group saw full year revenue grow 8% over 2023 to reach $400.3 billion. Adjusted earnings from operations, excluding costs related to last year’s cyberattack on Change Healthcare and the company’s sale of its South American operations, were $34.4 billion for full year 2024.

2024 revenue for company’s health insurance division, UnitedHealthcare, increased 6% to $298.4 billion. The number of people served through the commercial plans grew by 2.4 million last year. In Medicare, the number of enrollees grew by 9.4 million, but in Medicaid enrollment “moderated,” according to the company because of eligibility redeterminations.

UnitedHealth Group reported a medical care ratio in 2024 of 85.5% compared with 83.2% in 2023. In a news release, company executives said this increase in the medical care ratio was due to CMS’s Medicare funding reductions, member mix and timing of Medicaid redeterminations. Other factors from the third quarter — increased hospital coding intensity and specialty medication prescribing — continued to impact the company in the fourth quarter.

In an investor call John Rex, president and chief financial officer of UnitedHealth Group, said the 2024 medical care ratio was 150 basis points above the company’s original outlook. The company, he said, began 2024 with the Change Healthcare cyberattack, which created a nearly $1 billion in business disruption impact.

The company, Rex said, believes its pricing for 2025 is adequate. “We start the year with highly informed insight into the care needs of the people we will be serving. In addition, this year, we have seen a notable uptake of our more managed offerings. Think HMO style, which provides strong value for consumers, effective care tools for doctors and more predictable performance We expect 2025 full-year medical care ratio of 86.5% plus or minus 50 basis points.”

In Medicare Advantage plans, Rex said the company expects that 2025 will see an additional 800,000 enrollees in individual and special needs plans, and the outlook for the next few years is strong.

Within Optum Health, revenue grew 12% in 2024 over 2023, which the company said was led by Optum Rx and Optum Health.

Optum Rx, which provides pharmacy benefit services, saw revenue in 2024 increase by 15%. The number of adjusted scripts grew to 1.62 billion, compared with 1.54 billion in 2023.

Rex said the pharmacy benefit management business sas customer retention rate exceeding 98%; the company also added 750 new clients

Andrew Witty

“The people of UnitedHealth Group remain focused on making high-quality, affordable health care more available to more people while making the health system easier to navigate for patients and providers, positioning us well for growth in 2025,” Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, said in the news release.

This story was updated to include information from UnitedHealth Group’s call with investors.