UnitedHealth Group executives said healthcare information technology helped drive the insurer's strong showing in 2010, with a reported $84.2 billion in revenues, up by 8 percent year over year. The company's consolidated fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $24 billion increased $2.2 billion, or 10 percent year-over-year.
The full-year 2010 financial results included revenue growth from both the company's health benefits and health services business platforms. Full year and fourth quarter 2010 net earnings were $4.10 per share and $0.94 per share, respectively.
In 2010, combined health services revenues increased by $3.2 billion, or 15 percent, to $25 billion. The revenue advance was driven by growth in consumers served through pharmaceutical benefit management programs and public sector behavioral health programs and increased healthcare technology software and service revenues. Combined health services revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 increased $766 million, or 13 percent, to $6.5 billion.
Ingenix, the healthcare IT arm of UnitedHealth Group, reported that revenues increased to $2.3 billion in 2010, an advance of 28 percent year-over-year, including an increase of 33 percent to $715 million in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter sales bookings increased 127 percent year-over-year, driven by strength in health information technology and business process outsourcing services for care providers, government entities and payers.
The Ingenix contract revenue backlog of $3.3 billion at Dec. 31, 2010 was up 47 percent year-over-year, driven by acquisition-related backlog expansion and organic growth, executives said.
The health benefits businesses served 1.2 million more people in 2010, including growth of 230,000 people in the fourth quarter.
"Our strong advances in serving customers across key performance measures over the past two years have come from a consistent focus on fundamental execution," said Stephen J. Hemsley, president and CEO of UnitedHealth Group. "That focus is driving growth and favorable business results. We are positive about the future and our potential to address evolving market needs.
"We believe our two primary platforms – health benefits and health services – will be effective vehicles for deploying our assets and resources to help address the broad needs of customers and key participants in the health system and health care marketplace," he added.