Health Care Costs Payable

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Health Care And Other Insurance Liabilities [Abstract]

The following table shows the components of the change in health care costs payable during the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:


	Six Months Ended June 30,
In millions	2024		2023
Health care costs payable, beginning of the period	$	12,049	$	10,142
Less: Reinsurance recoverables	5		5
Less: Impact of discount rate on long-duration insurance reserves (1)	(23)		8
Health care costs payable, beginning of the period, net	12,067		10,129
Acquisitions, net	—		1,102
Add: Components of incurred health care costs
Current year	56,177		42,705
Prior years	(662)		(619)
Total incurred health care costs (2)	55,515		42,086
Less: Claims paid
Current year	43,218		32,502
Prior years	10,514		8,800
Total claims paid	53,732		41,302


Health care costs payable, end of the period, net	13,850		12,015
Add: Reinsurance recoverables	59		5
Add: Impact of discount rate on long-duration insurance reserves (1)	(24)		(22)
Health care costs payable, end of the period	$	13,885	$	11,998

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(1)Reflects the difference between the current discount rate and the locked-in discount rate on long-duration insurance reserves which is recorded within accumulated other comprehensive loss on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.

(2)Total incurred health care costs for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 in the table above exclude $48 million and $42 million, respectively, of health care costs recorded in the Health Care Benefits segment that are included in other insurance liabilities on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets and $93 million and $102 million, respectively, of health care costs recorded in the Corporate/Other segment that are included in other insurance liabilities on the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets.

The Company’s estimates of prior years’ health care costs payable decreased by $662 million and $619 million, respectively, in the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, because claims were settled for amounts less than originally estimated (i.e., the amount of claims incurred was lower than originally estimated), primarily due to lower health care cost trends as well as the actual claim submission time being faster than originally assumed (i.e., the Company’s completion factors were higher than originally assumed) in estimating health care costs payable at the end of the prior year.

At June 30, 2024, the Company’s liabilities for the ultimate cost of (i) services rendered to the Company’s Insured members but not yet reported to the Company and (ii) claims which have been reported to the Company but not yet paid (collectively, “IBNR”) plus expected development on reported claims totaled approximately $10.6 billion. Substantially all of the Company’s liabilities for IBNR plus expected development on reported claims at June 30, 2024 related to the current year.