Oscar Health Announces Results for Second Quarter 2021

Health insurtech company Oscar Health, Inc. (NYSE: OSCR) today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.

“Our second quarter results tell a clear story: that our member-centric, tech-first approach to health care, continues to generate market demand and value for our members and +Oscar clients,” said Mario Schlosser, CEO and Co-Founder of Oscar. “With membership steadily increasing, we’re well-positioned on our path towards profitability for our Insurance business. We look forward to building upon this momentum in 2022 by entering three new states and 146 counties.1 For +Oscar, we are actively driving growth through a robust and active pipeline.”

Total direct policy premiums were $838.1 million in the quarter, up 44.4% year-over-year (“YoY”), driven primarily by higher membership growth in existing and new states and business mix shifts as well as increased enrollment from the Special Enrollment Period. Premiums earned in the quarter were up 364.3% YoY, driven both by membership growth and lower quota share cession rates in 2021.

Oscar’s InsuranceCo Combined Ratio, which is the sum of its Medical Loss Ratio (“MLR”) and the InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio, increased 1840 bps YoY to 102.2% largely reflecting a higher MLR. The MLR increased to 82.4% in 2Q21 from 60.7% in 2Q20, primarily driven by meaningfully lower utilization in 2Q20 as a result of COVID-19, as well as higher COVID-19 testing and treatment costs and a return to more normalized utilization in 2Q21. The InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio improved by 330 bps YoY, driven by increasing operating leverage from higher revenue, scale efficiencies from our tech stack, and the repeal of the health insurer fee (“HIF”).

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1 Pending regulatory approvals.

1. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. See “Key Operating and Non-GAAP Metrics - Adjusted EBITDA” in this release for a reconciliation to net loss, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, and for information regarding Oscar’s use of Adjusted EBITDA.

1. Represents total membership for Oscar’s co-branded partnership with Cigna.

1. Oscar has not provided a quantitative reconciliation of forecasted Adjusted EBITDA to forecasted GAAP net loss within this press release because Oscar is unable, without making unreasonable efforts, to calculate certain reconciling items with confidence. These items include, but are not limited to, stock-based compensation expense. These items, which could materially affect the computation of forecasted GAAP net loss, are inherently uncertain and depend on various factors, some of which are outside of Oscar’s control. As such, any associated estimate and its impact on GAAP net loss could vary materially. For more information regarding Adjusted EBITDA, please see “Key Operating and Non-GAAP Metrics” below.

The foregoing statements represent management's current estimates as of the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially depending on a number of factors. Investors are urged to read the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included in this release. Management does not assume any obligation to update these estimates.

Quarterly Conference Call Details

Oscar will host a conference call to discuss the financial results today, August 12, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. (ET). A live audio webcast and a supplemental presentation will be available via the Investor Relations page of Oscar’s website at ir.hioscar.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for on-demand listening shortly after the completion of the call, at the same web link, and will remain available for approximately 90 days.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This release presents Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial metrics, which is provided as a complement to the results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial information to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is provided in the accompanying tables found at the end of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained herein are forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our financial outlook and estimates, including direct policy premiums, medical loss ratio, administrative expense ratio and other financial performance, and the related underlying assumptions, our business and financial prospects, general and healthcare industry market conditions and trends, and our management’s plans and objectives for future operations, expectations and business strategy. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “targets,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, there are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the impact of COVID-19 on global markets, economic conditions, the healthcare industry and our results of operations, and the response by governments and other third parties; our ability to retain and expand our member base; our ability to execute our growth strategy; our ability to maintain or enter into new partnerships or collaborations with healthcare industry participants; negative publicity, unfavorable shifts in perception of our digital platform or other member service channels; our ability to achieve and/or maintain profitability in the future; changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including changes with respect to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, as amended (collectively, the “ACA”) and any regulations enacted thereunder; our ability to accurately estimate our incurred claims expenses or effectively manage our claims costs or related administrative costs, including as a result of fluctuations in medical utilization rates due to the impact of COVID-19; our ability to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements and applicable performance standards, including as a result of our participation in government-sponsored programs, such as Medicare; changes or developments in the health insurance markets in the United States, including the passage and implementation of a law to create a single-payer or government-run health insurance program; our ability to comply with applicable privacy, security, and data laws, regulations, and standards; our ability to maintain key in-network providers and good relations with the physicians, hospitals, and other providers within and outside our provider networks, or to arrange for the delivery of quality care; unfavorable or otherwise costly outcomes of lawsuits and claims that arise from the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject; unanticipated results of risk adjustment programs; delays in our receipt of premiums; disruptions or challenges to our relationship with the Oscar Medical Group; cyber-security breaches of our and our partners’ information and technology systems; unanticipated changes in population morbidity and large-scale changes in health care utilization; and the other factors set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and our other filings with the SEC.

You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date as of which it is made, and, except as otherwise required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will arise.

About Oscar Health

Oscar Health, Inc. (“Oscar”) is the first health insurance company built around a full stack technology platform and a relentless focus on serving its members. At Oscar, our mission is to make a healthier life accessible and affordable for all. Headquartered in New York City, Oscar has been challenging the health care system's status quo since our founding in 2012. The company’s member-first philosophy and innovative approach to care has earned us the trust of approximately 560,000 members as of June 30, 2021. We offer Individual & Family, Small Group and Medicare Advantage plans, and +Oscar, our full stack technology platform to others within the provider and payor space. Our vision is to refactor health care to make good care cost less. Refactor is a term used in software engineering that means to improve the design, structure, and implementation of the software, while preserving its functionality. At Oscar, we take this definition a step further. We improve our members’ experience by building trust through deep engagement, personalized guidance, and rapid iteration.

Key Operating and Non-GAAP Financial Metrics

We regularly review a number of metrics, including the following key operating and non-GAAP financial metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends in our business, prepare financial projections, and make strategic decisions. We believe these operational and financial measures are useful in evaluating our performance, in addition to our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Members

Members are defined as any individual covered by one of our health plans. We view the number of members enrolled in our health plans as an important metric to help evaluate and estimate revenue and market share. Additionally, the more members we enroll, the more data we have, which allows us to improve the functionality of our platform.

Direct Policy Premiums

Direct policy premiums are defined as the premiums collected from our members or from the federal government during the period indicated, before risk adjustment and reinsurance. These premiums include APTC, or premium subsidies, which are available to individuals and families with certain annual incomes. Through March 31, 2021, APTC was available to those individuals and families with annual incomes between 100% and 600% of the federal poverty level in California and 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level in all other states under the ACA. Starting April 1, 2021, consumers enrolling in Individual health plans through a health insurance marketplace could take advantage of additional subsidies available under the American Rescue Plan, which caps premium payment at 8.5% of household income, and expands maximum coverage subsidies to anyone who received unemployment insurance benefits in 2021. We believe direct policy premiums are an important metric to assess our growth.

Medical Loss Ratio

Medical loss ratio is calculated as set forth in the table below. Medical claims are total medical expenses incurred by members in order to utilize health care services less any member cost sharing. These services include inpatient, outpatient, pharmacy, and physician costs. Medical claims also include risk sharing arrangements with certain of our providers. The impact of the federal risk adjustment program is included in the denominator of our MLR. We believe MLR is an important metric to demonstrate the ratio of our costs to pay for health care of our members to the premiums before ceded reinsurance. MLRs in our existing products are subject to various federal and state minimum requirements. Below is a calculation of our MLR for the periods indicated.

1. See the Appendix to this release for a reconciliation of direct claims incurred to claims incurred, net appearing on the face of our statement of operations.
2. Represents claims ceded to reinsurers pursuant to an excess of loss treaty, for which such reinsurers are financially liable. We use excess of loss reinsurance to limit the losses on individual claims of our members.
3. Represents payments made by certain state-run reinsurance programs established subject to CMS approval under Section 1332 of the ACA.
4. Represents excess of loss insurance premiums paid.

InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio

InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio is calculated as set forth in the table below. The ratio reflects the costs associated with running our combined insurance companies. We believe InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio is useful to evaluate our ability to manage our expenses as a percentage of premiums before ceded quota share reinsurance. Expenses necessary to run the insurance company are included in other insurance costs and federal and state assessments. These expenses include variable expenses paid to vendors and distribution partners, premium taxes and healthcare exchange fees, employee-related compensation, benefits, marketing costs, and other administrative expenses. Below is a calculation of our InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio for the periods indicated.

InsuranceCo Combined Ratio

InsuranceCo Combined Ratio is defined as the sum of MLR and InsuranceCo Administrative Expense Ratio. We believe this ratio best represents the current overall performance of our insurance business for activities that can be compared to peers.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net loss for the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization as further adjusted for stock-based compensation, warrant contract expense, changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities, and other non-recurring items as described below. We present Adjusted EBITDA because we consider it to be an important supplemental measure of our performance and believe it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. Management believes that investors’ understanding of our performance is enhanced by including this non-GAAP financial measure as a reasonable basis for comparing our ongoing results of operations.

We caution investors that amounts presented in accordance with our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by our competitors, because not all companies and analysts calculate Adjusted EBITDA in the same manner.

Management uses Adjusted EBITDA:

• as a measurement of operating performance because it assists us in comparing the operating performance of our business on a consistent basis, as it removes the impact of items not directly resulting from our core operations;
• for planning purposes, including the preparation of our internal annual operating budget and financial projections;
• to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of our operational strategies; and
• to evaluate our capacity to expand our business.

By providing this non-GAAP financial measure, together with a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure, we believe we are enhancing investors’ understanding of our business and our results of operations, as well as assisting investors in evaluating how well we are executing our strategic initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation, or as an alternative to, or a substitute for net loss or other financial statement data presented in our consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance.

1. Represents (i) non-cash expenses related to equity-based compensation programs, which vary from period to period depending on various factors including the timing, number, and the valuation of awards, (ii) warrant contract expense, and (iii) changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities.
2. Represents debt extinguishment costs of $20.2 million incurred on the prepayment of the Company's Term Loan and approximately $0.9 million of non-recurring expenses incurred in connection with our initial public offering.

Appendix

Reinsurance Impact

The composition of total reinsurance premiums ceded and reinsurance premiums assumed, which are included as components of total earned premiums in the consolidated statement of operations, is as follows:

The Company records claims expense net of reinsurance recoveries. The following table reconciles the total claims expense to the net claims expense as presented in the consolidated statement of operations:

The Company records selling, general and administrative expenses net of ceding commissions. The following table reconciles total other insurance costs to the amount presented in the consolidated statement of operations:

The Company records reinsurance recoverables as “balances due from reinsurance programs” within current assets on its consolidated balance sheets. The composition of the reinsurance recoverables balance is as follows:

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