Item 1. Business
OUR BUSINESS
Oscar is a leading healthcare technology company built around a full stack technology platform and a relentless focus on member experience. We offer health plans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) serving individuals, families, and employees. We have been challenging the status quo in the healthcare system since our founding in 2012 and are dedicated to making a healthier life accessible and affordable for all. Our technology drives superior experiences, deep engagement, and high-value clinical care, earning us the trust of approximately 1.68 million effectuated members, as of December 31, 2024. Effectuated members are those who are actively enrolled in our plan and have either paid their premium or are within the grace period.
In addition to supporting our insurance business, our differentiated technology platform also powers both providers and payors through +Oscar. We offer Campaign Builder, an engagement and recommendation platform that leverages the wisdom from 12+ years of building the Oscar member experience. The platform delivers continuous care management by informing population identification and delivering personalized interactions with real time reporting and analytics to measure key outcomes and insights.
Our Offerings
Oscar’s innovative technology-enabled model - made up of Oscar’s insurance business and +Oscar - is uniquely positioned to meet the rising expectations of individuals, families, and employees, as well as +Oscar clients. Oscar's business is built upon our focus on member experience and our cloud-native technology platform.
Oscar's Insurance Business
Oscar's health plans are offered in the individual market. The individual market primarily consists of policies purchased by individuals and families through health insurance marketplaces, established by the ACA and operated by the federal government, as well as other marketplaces operated by individual states (collectively, “Health Insurance Marketplaces”). Individuals and families may also purchase policies in the individual market off-exchange. Employees whose employers have chosen to offer an Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (“ICHRA”) are also able to purchase Oscar’s health plans. Most ICHRA plans are purchased by employees off-exchange, although they may also be purchased through the Health Insurance Marketplace.
We offer health plans in the individual market under the five metal plan categories defined by the ACA: Catastrophic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. These plans differ based on the size of the monthly premium and the level of sharing of medical costs between Oscar and our members. Oscar works to bring new and innovative insurance products to market, built to meet the healthcare needs of consumers from various communities. Oscar does this with an eye towards promoting health outcomes, accessibility, affordability, and closing critical gaps in benefits for consumers. Our products help remove financial barriers to high-value services, with a focus on leveraging affordable care, clinical strategies, and our innovative business model, which collectively, empower and incentivize our members to have better control of their health. Some of our products incorporate benefits and programs of particular value to members with complex conditions, such as diabetes and asthma.
Our premium rates, along with specific rate changes, are required to be approved by applicable state and federal regulatory agencies in accordance with the ACA. Additionally, various federal and state laws have minimum Medical Loss Ratio (“MLR”) requirements. MLR is defined as provided in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Components of our Results of Operations—Medical Loss Ratio”. We elect to participate in a given individual market on an annual basis. Our base premiums are subject to a risk adjustment based on the health status of our members relative to the overall health status of all individuals in a given state or market. Risk adjustment is defined as provided in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Recent Developments, Trends and Other Key Factors Impacting Performance—Risk Adjustment”.
+Oscar Platform
Oscar’s success is built upon our superior member engagement and robust technology platform. Through the +Oscar platform, we deploy our technology to power others throughout the healthcare system. Campaign Builder, our engagement and recommendation platform for providers and payors, leverages predictive analytics to identify high value opportunities for engagement and to deliver personalized interactions with real time reporting and analytics to measure key outcomes and insights. +Oscar currently serves nearly 500,000 client lives on its Campaign Builder platform, in addition to the approximately 1.68 million members enrolled in Oscar health insurance, in each case as of December 31, 2024.
Our Provider Contracts and Network
Our health plans include access to a network of high-quality physicians and hospitals, as well as a Care Team that supports members from finding a doctor to navigating costs. As portions of the healthcare system increasingly shift towards offering more selective networks, we believe the insurers that will thrive are those that consistently deliver a high-quality experience by engaging their members and routing care to in-network facilities and physicians that offer quality care at affordable rates. Oscar has exclusive provider organization (“EPO”) plans in most of our markets, and also offers health maintenance organization (“HMO”) plans in select markets. We work with technology-forward, high brand-recognition health systems, including some of the largest health systems in the U.S.
While we generally have a standard set of terms that we propose for our provider contracting relationships, each health market in which we operate is unique, and therefore our negotiated contract terms are specific to each market and health provider. For instance, the fee structures for these contracts vary, and can include fee-for-service arrangements, value-based incentives and payment structures, or payments on a capitation basis.
Membership
Markets
Oscar's member-first philosophy and innovative approach to care earned us the trust of approximately 1.68 million effectuated members as of December 31, 2024. We offer coverage for individuals and families in 18 states. We regularly evaluate our markets for strategic fit and enter or exit markets accordingly. We exited the Medicare Advantage market before the 2024 plan year and stopped offering small group products in all markets as of December 15, 2024. The Company also decided not to renew the Oscar+Cigna Small Group arrangement after its initial term ended on December 31, 2024.
Concentration
We generate the vast majority of our total revenue from health insurance policy premiums. Premiums are collected directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) as part of the advanced premium tax credits (“APTC”) program, as well as from our members. For the year ended December 31, 2024, $9,512.3 million and $799.3 million of premiums were earned directly from CMS and from our members, respectively.
Disaggregated membership information as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 is presented in the tables below:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Membership by Offering |
| | As of December 31, |
| | 2024 | | 2023 |
Individual and Small Group | | 1,636,400 | | | 967,002 | |
Medicare Advantage | | — | | | 1,781 | |
Cigna+Oscar (1) | | 40,570 | | | 67,500 | |
Total Members (2) | | 1,676,970 | | | 1,036,283 | |
(1)Represents total membership for our co-branded partnership with Cigna.
(2)A member covered under more than one of our health plans counts as a single member for the purposes of this metric.
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Membership by State |
| As of December 31, |
| 2024 | | 2023 |
Florida | 871,881 | | 593,867 |
Georgia | 379,680 | | | 117,189 | |
Texas | 141,000 | | | 112,554 | |
Ohio | 82,845 | | | 27,871 | |
Tennessee | 31,887 | | | 10,228 | |
Iowa | 26,767 | | | 10,344 | |
Missouri | 26,119 | | | 7,604 | |
New Jersey | 23,416 | | | 18,842 | |
Arizona | 14,386 | | | 16,783 | |
Kansas | 13,816 | | | 3,808 | |
Oklahoma | 12,153 | | | 20,352 | |
Illinois | 11,138 | | | 6,057 | |
California | 10,981 | | | 50,511 | |
New York | 10,902 | | | 14,021 | |
Connecticut | 7,658 | | | 19,660 | |
North Carolina | 5,403 | | | 780 | |
Michigan | 2,909 | | | 1,784 | |
Pennsylvania | 2,732 | | | 3,193 | |
Nebraska | 929 | | | 499 | |
Virginia | 368 | | | 336 | |
Total | 1,676,970 | | | 1,036,283 | |
Seasonality
Our business is generally affected by the seasonal patterns of our member enrollment, medical expenses, and health plan mix shift and policy design. Special Enrollment Periods (“SEP”) or other market dynamics that drive enrollment and/or mix changes throughout the year may impact the per member levels of premiums, claims, and/or risk adjustment transfers.
SEP refers to a period outside the Open Enrollment Period or Annual Election Period when an eligible person can enroll in a health plan or make changes to an existing health plan. A person is generally eligible to participate in a SEP if certain qualifying life events occur, such as losing certain health coverage, moving, getting married, having a baby, or adopting a child or resulting from regulatory requirements.
Members
Our membership is measured as of a particular point in time. Membership may vary throughout the year due to disenrollments, any SEP, and other market dynamics that are in effect such as Medicaid redeterminations, other legislative or regulatory actions, or other factors that enable the overall market to grow or decline throughout the year.
Claims Incurred
Our medical expenses are impacted by seasonal effects of medical costs such as the utilization of deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums over the course of the policy year, which shifts more costs to us in the second half of the year as we pay a higher proportion of covered claims costs, and the number of days and holidays in a given period. Our medical and pharmacy costs can also exhibit seasonality depending on selection effects or changes in the risk profile of our membership and the proportion of our membership that is new in the calendar year. The emergence of medical and pharmacy claims is influenced by the aforementioned drivers, and further mix shifts may continue to alter claims incurred patterns in future periods.
Reinsurance
We believe our reinsurance agreements help us achieve important goals for our business, including risk management and capital efficiency. Our reinsurance is contracted under two different types of arrangements: quota share reinsurance contracts and excess of loss (“XOL”) reinsurance contracts. In quota share reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume a specified percentage of the ceding company’s losses in exchange for a corresponding percentage of premiums. In XOL reinsurance, the reinsurer agrees to assume all or a portion of the ceding company’s losses in excess of a specified amount. Under XOL reinsurance, the premium payable to the reinsurer is negotiated by the parties based on losses on an individual member in a given calendar year and their assessment of the amount of risk being ceded to the reinsurer. In the case of federal and state-run reinsurance programs, no reinsurance premiums are paid. The reinsurance agreements do not relieve us of our primary medical claims incurred obligations.
OUR DIFFERENTIATED TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
Oscar’s technology stack is purpose-built to empower the modern consumer throughout different stages of life. Since inception, Oscar has been focused on building our technological infrastructure and end-to-end experience. We have built our own cloud-native single-threaded technology platform, meaning it spans all critical healthcare insurance and technology domains, including member and provider data, utilization management, claims management, billing, and benefits. Owning our platform from end to end offers us greater control over the member experience, engagement, and affordability, and enables us to provide a superior experience for our members and providers.
Our technology platform provides members with a simple and intuitive consumer experience that enables them to take control of their healthcare decisions. The Oscar member experience begins with trust and engagement, which we earn by providing our members with features to help them navigate the many disconnected elements of the healthcare ecosystem. Our technology is fueling advancement in member engagement and stakeholder satisfaction by focusing on:
•Powering personalized engagement to drive real-time information flow based on cultural preferences and individual health needs to reduce member friction and improve retention.
•Improving navigation by making it easier for members to receive high-value clinical care through enhanced digital tools and process automation.
•Solving key pain points that unburden providers by reducing administrative tasks, deepening network relationships, and enabling better care delivery for our members (e.g., digitizing provider-member interactions and automating clinical and administrative workflows).
It is the combination of all these factors—trust, engagement, and personalized insights—that enables us to help members find quality care at rates they can afford. Our ability to deliver a high-value product, in turn, engenders more trust, engagement, and ability on our part to provide personalized, data-driven insights. We refer to this virtuous cycle as our member engagement engine.
Product features such as virtual care, and our Care Teams are how we build the trust, engagement, and relationships needed to help members bend the cost curve in healthcare. By leveraging Campaign Builder, our engagement and automation engine, we are able to rapidly create and iterate upon omnichannel member outreach programs to drive adherence to important clinical pathways. Owning the technologies that power our business from end to end lets us pioneer new ways of addressing frictions in the healthcare system and is the foundation for Oscar’s mission to make a healthier life accessible and affordable for all. Today, this platform provides the foundation for our personalized data insight and analysis as well as our critical cost structure savings. As a result, engagement with our technology platform and customer satisfaction remains high, relative to industry average. During the fourth quarter of 2024, our net promoter score reached 66, which is meaningfully higher than the industry average.
Our platform is an increasingly powerful force driving the performance of Oscar's insurance business – fueling growth, engagement, and operational efficiencies. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technologies (“AI Technologies”) have the potential to further power what we can do. We have use cases for AI Technologies in the pipeline across all levels of our technology stack, including: (i) automation to drive efficiencies in our administrative functions, including virtual care and claims processing, (ii) member personalization, to improve the quality of touchpoints members have with the healthcare ecosystem; and (iii) medical record extraction, to better understand our members.
We believe competitors who lack this member engagement engine will face significant challenges in replicating our consumer experience, and our platform thus forms an important structural barrier around the innovations we have developed.
OUR STRATEGIC FOCUS
We built our strategy around several core trends in healthcare including consumerization, digitization, and the shift towards personalization. Over time, we have been observing the overall healthcare system move towards these trends, which not only validates our strategy, but provides us with a first mover advantage. We are now a scaled health insurer with approximately 1.68 million effectuated members as of December 31, 2024. We offer an exceptional member experience, high member engagement, and our own technology stack that we have built from end to end. In 2024, we achieved profitability on both a consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and net income basis. Adjusted EBITDA is a non GAAP measure. The definition and our use of Adjusted EBITDA are provided in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Overview—Adjusted EBITDA”. Additionally, a reconciliation to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations—Adjusted EBITDA”.
We continue to believe that ICHRA will disrupt traditional employer group coverage and expand individual insurance beyond the traditional ACA market. Our goal is to position Oscar as the preferred carrier for employees enrolling in health insurance through an ICHRA program. Employers can now offer defined contributions to their employees to access Oscar’s suite of products in the markets where Oscar offers health plans. We are partnering with a variety of ICHRA platforms to transition small, mid- and large-sized employers to the individual market where their employees can choose an Oscar product that meets their individual needs.
Our strategic priorities include: running a great company with market-leading, sustainable, scalable operations; continually investing in our superior member experience; harnessing our technology to power others; and developing innovative market offerings to expand the individual market.
HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 2,400 full-time employees.
At Oscar, we are powered by people from varied and broad backgrounds, experiences, and industries. We foster a culture in which our employees share a common connection to our mission: they are passionate about making a frustrating healthcare system easier, more human, and better for everyone. These principles drive our core values:
1.What we do is a big deal. We’re solving problems that change and save lives.
2.Powered by people. Members above all. Developing and growing others is what raises the bar.
3.No genius without grit. Be relentless. Be scrappy. Trying and failing beats not trying and changing nothing.
4.Seek the truth. But never assume you’ve found it. Be scientific.
5.Inspire and provoke. Develop and display leadership at all levels. Fight to be the best.
6.Be transparent. Give and ask for direct feedback. Be grateful for and excited by the help of others.
7.Make it right. Admit your mistakes. Then learn from them. Never build alone.
Talent Recruitment and Retention
As a mission-driven company, we prioritize attracting and retaining qualified personnel who share our mission to make a healthier life affordable and accessible to all. This centers around what we believe to be a compelling employee value proposition, that includes competitive pay and benefits, flexible work styles, opportunity to make real impact towards the Oscar mission, and ongoing performance development.
We compete to hire and retain highly talented individuals from all backgrounds, and we offer our employees compensation packages designed to be competitive and aligned with market best practices. Our compensation packages include base salary and some of the following components, depending on the role, level, and business function: a short-term incentive that takes into account company and individual performance, long-term incentive equity, performance-based equity, commissions, and overtime pay. We believe our compensation philosophy and practice, which is rooted in data and benchmarked to a cohort of technology, healthcare, operations, and insurance peer companies, is transparent, systematic, and equitable.
As a result of our shift to a flexible workforce and expanding our recruiting efforts beyond states where we maintain a physical office location, we have had the opportunity to further expand the geographic diversity of our workforce.
Health and Wellbeing
At Oscar, we believe that making a healthier life affordable and accessible to all begins with our own workforce, and we continually seek opportunities to optimize our employee offerings including events, activities, benefits, perks and community support. We have invested in a benefits package designed to be comprehensive and affordable, providing protection and support to help our employees achieve health, financial, and wellness goals, with services including mental health care, fertility support, and family-building benefits. We also believe in the importance of investing in developmental opportunities for our employees, and all employees have access to internally created and third party skills and training programs. Lastly, we recognize that individuals may need to take time away from work for various reasons, so we offer paid time off and leave packages to all full-time employees. This includes wellness days, parental leave, and sabbatical leaves for more tenured employees.
Inclusion and Belonging
We recognize the importance of inclusion and belonging in the workplace, and we aim to embed efforts to foster an inclusive workplace across our full slate of human capital programming and operations. We believe that having a varied and broad employee base empowers our community, drives better business outcomes, and ultimately allows us to better serve our members.
Internally, we aim to promote a transparent, systematic approach to our human capital frameworks and operations. Specifically, with respect to compensation, all of our compensation decisions are rooted in benchmarking data and creating parity within like roles and we further reward employees based on performance, where it is warranted, in compliance with applicable federal and other laws and regulations. Our employees are able to view their total compensation package, including their salary band and leveling, which helps employees understand their pay and encourages proactive conversation between managers and employees. Beyond these processes, we strive for inclusivity by offering self-identification options in our human resource information systems and inclusive employee-oriented programming. We believe our Employee Resource Groups (“ERGs”) are another important part of maintaining different perspectives and fostering connections across our organizations. In 2024, we had approximately nine ERGs which are open to all employees and focused on building community, awareness and advocacy based on the values that are shared within those groups.
We bring our workforce together to help inform the initiatives of our Culturally Competent Care Program, which strives to provide care to members with various values, beliefs, and behaviors, including tailoring care delivery to meet members’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs.
COMPETITION
We operate in a highly competitive environment in an industry subject to significant and ongoing changes, including business and hospital system consolidations, new strategic alliances, market pressures, scientific and technological advances in medical care and therapeutics, as well as regulatory and legislative challenges and reform both at the federal and state level. This reform includes, but is not limited to, the federal and state healthcare reform legislation described under “—Government Regulation.” In addition, changes to the political environment may drive additional shifts in the competitive landscape.
We compete directly and through independent intermediaries to enroll new and retain existing members, as we currently derive substantially all of our revenue from direct policy premiums. We believe that our principal competitive features affecting our ability to retain and increase membership include the range and prices of health plans offered, breadth and quality of provider network, comprehensiveness of coverage, benefits and wellness programs, quality of service and member experience, responsiveness to member demands, market presence, financial stability, and reputation.
As attracting new members depends in part on our ability to provide access to competitive provider networks, we compete in establishing such provider networks. We believe that the factors providers consider in deciding whether to contract with a health insurer include existing and potential member volume, reimbursement rates, timeliness and accuracy of claims payment and administrative service capabilities. While our health insurance subsidiaries are required to meet various federal and state requirements regarding the size and composition of our participating provider networks, our business model is based on contracting with selected healthcare systems and other providers, not all systems and providers in a given area. This allows us to work more closely with high quality healthcare systems that engage with us using our technology and to negotiate more favorable reimbursement rates from these healthcare systems.
The relative importance of each of the competitive factors mentioned in the above paragraphs and the identity of our principal competitors for members and providers varies by market and geography. Our principal competitors in the individual market primarily consist of plans offered by national carriers, regional carriers, Medicaid-focused insurers offering Health Insurance Marketplace products, and local Blue Cross plans.
SALES AND MARKETING
Our marketing and sales initiatives focus on member growth through three primary avenues: acquiring members through brokers, acquiring members directly through Health Insurance Marketplaces, and acquiring members directly through our digital platform. As a part of our ICHRA initiatives, we also partner with ICHRA platform companies to enroll employees in Oscar plans through their platforms.
The vast majority of our membership is acquired through the broker channel, and brokers typically use an Enhanced Direct Enrollment (EDE) platform to enroll the members in plans offered on the Health Insurance Marketplace. As such, we compete through the commissions and bonus structures we pay these partners. As a greater proportion of enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace comes through independent brokers, the amount of compensation paid to these third parties impacts both our ability to retain our current members and obtain new members. The proportion of broker-acquired business increased in 2024 compared to 2023 consistent with the macro trend in the Health Insurance Marketplace, where we see fewer members signing up directly on the exchanges. Our digital engagement platform, a key element of our retention strategy, is used by brokers and consumers.
Enterprise marketing and sales strategies also include account-based marketing, business development initiatives, member communications that are focused on member acquisition, and member engagement. We also use the data generated in member support interactions to constantly refine and improve our marketing campaigns.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We believe that our intellectual property rights are important to our business, and our commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our core technologies, intellectual property and proprietary rights (such as source code, information, data, processes and other forms of information, know-how and technology). We primarily rely on copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures, and contractual arrangements to establish and protect our intellectual property. As of December 31, 2024, we exclusively owned three registered trademarks in the United States for our name (Oscar, Oscar Health, and Oscar Care). In addition, we have registered domain names for websites that we use or may use in our business. As of December 31, 2024, we owned no issued patents or pending patent applications anywhere in the world, and therefore, we do not have patent protection for any of our proprietary technology, which includes our full stack technology platform, proprietary software, mobile application (“app”), or web portal. However, our software and other proprietary information are protected by copyright on creation. Copyright registrations, which have so far not been necessary, may be sought on an as-needed basis.
We seek to control access to and distribution of our proprietary information, including our algorithms, source and object code, designs, and business processes, through security measures and contractual arrangements. We seek to limit access to our confidential and proprietary information to a “need to know” basis and enter into confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, members, vendors, and partners that may receive or otherwise have access to any confidential or proprietary information. We also obtain written invention assignment agreements from our employees and consultants that assign to us all right, interest, and title to inventions and work product developed during their employment or service engagement, respectively, with us. In the ordinary course of business, we provide our intellectual property to external third parties through licensing or restricted use agreements. For information on risks associated with our intellectual property rights, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—Failure to secure, protect, or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.”
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Our business is dependent on effective, resilient, and secure information systems that assist us in, among other things, monitoring utilization and other cost factors, processing provider claims, providing data to our regulators, and implementing our data security measures. Our members also depend upon our information systems for enrollment, primary care and specialist physician roster access, and other information, while our providers depend upon our information systems for eligibility verifications, claims status, and other information.
We partner with third parties, including Amazon and Google, to support our information technology systems. This makes our operations vulnerable to adverse effects if such third parties fail to perform adequately. We have entered into agreements with third-party vendors who manage certain of our information technology infrastructure services including, among other things, our information technology operations, end-user services, and platforms for cloud computing. As a result of such agreements, we have been able to reduce our administrative expenses over time, while improving the reliability of our information technology functions, and maintain targeted levels of service and operating performance. A segment of the infrastructure services is managed within our cloud platform, while other portions of the infrastructure services are managed externally by vendors. Our use of cloud service providers in particular is strategic, due to platform level redundancy in networking and computer hardware. As an example, we distribute our Amazon Web Services-hosted platform across multiple availability zones in an effort to reduce the likelihood of infrastructure failure.
We have established a program of security measures intended to protect our computer systems from security breaches and malicious activity and have implemented controls designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data, including protected health information (“PHI”), and the systems that store and transmit such data. We have employed various technology and process-based methods, such as network isolation, intrusion detection systems, vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, use of threat intelligence, content filtering, endpoint security (including anti-malware and detection response capabilities), email security mechanisms, and access control mechanisms. We also use encryption techniques for data at rest and in transit.
Our information systems and applications require continual maintenance, upgrading, and enhancement to meet our current and expected operational needs and regulatory requirements. We aim to regularly upgrade and expand our information systems’ capabilities. For information on risks associated with our information technology systems, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—If we are unable to integrate and manage our information systems effectively, our operations could be disrupted” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Business—If we or our partners or other third parties with whom we collaborate fail to protect confidential information and/or sustain a data security incident, we could suffer increased costs, material financial penalties, exposure to significant liability, adverse regulatory consequences, and reputational harm, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.”
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
General
Our operations are subject to comprehensive and detailed federal, state, and local laws and regulations throughout the jurisdictions in which we do business. These laws and regulations, which can vary significantly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, restrict how we conduct our businesses and result in additional burdens and costs to us. Further, federal, state, and local laws and regulations are subject to amendments and changing interpretations in each jurisdiction. In addition, there are numerous proposed healthcare laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. For information on risks associated with our regulatory framework, see “Risk Factors—Most Material Risks to Us—Any changes to the ACA and its regulations could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition; and Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework that Governs Us.”
Supervisory agencies, including federal and state regulatory and enforcement authorities, have broad authority to:
•grant, suspend, deny, and revoke certificates of authority to transact insurance;
•regulate our products and services;
•regulate, limit, or suspend our ability to market products, including the exclusion of our products from Health Insurance Marketplaces;
•monitor our network of contracted providers to ensure we meet specific state and/or federal quality, credentialing, availability and accessibility requirements on an ongoing basis and require regulatory assessment and approval annually as a condition of offering our products;
•approve premium rates;
•monitor our solvency and reserve adequacy;
•scrutinize our investment activities on the basis of quality, diversification, and other quantitative criteria; and
•impose criminal, civil, or administrative monetary penalties, and other sanctions for non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
To carry out the above tasks, CMS, state insurance regulators and other agencies periodically examine our current and past business practices, accounts and other books and records, operations and performance of our health plans, compliance with contracts, adherence to governing rules and regulations and the quality of care we provide to our members, including the quality, credentialing, availability and accessibility of contracted network providers. This information and these practices may be subject to routine surveys, mandatory data reporting and disclosure requirements, regular and special investigations and audits, and from time to time, we may receive subpoenas and other requests for information from government entities. The health insurance business also may be adversely impacted by court decisions that expand or invalidate the interpretations of existing statutes and regulations. It is uncertain whether we can recoup, through higher premiums or other measures, the increased costs caused by potential legislation, regulation, or court rulings.
State Regulation of Insurance Companies and HMOs
Our insurance and HMO subsidiaries must obtain and maintain regulatory approvals to sell specific health plans in the jurisdictions in which they conduct business. The nature and extent of state regulation varies by jurisdiction, and state insurance regulators generally have broad administrative authority with respect to all aspects of the insurance business. The Model Audit Rule, where adopted by states, requires expanded governance practices, risk and solvency assessment reporting and the filing of periodic financial and operating reports. Most states have adopted these or similar measures to expand the scope of regulations relating to corporate governance and internal control activities of HMOs and insurance companies. Health insurers and HMOs are subject to state examination and periodic regulatory approval renewal proceedings. Some of our business activity is subject to other healthcare-related regulations and requirements, including utilization review, pharmacy service, or provider-related regulations and regulatory approval requirements. These requirements differ from state to state and may contain network adequacy, contracting, product and rate, licensing and financial and reporting requirements. There are laws and regulations that set specific standards for, among other things, delivery of services, appeals, grievances, payment of claims, the quality, credentialing, availability and accessibility of contracted providers participating in our networks, fraud prevention, protection of consumer health information, pricing and underwriting practices, and covered benefits and services.
In addition, we are regulated as an insurance holding company and are subject to the insurance holding company laws of the states in which our health insurance subsidiaries are domiciled. These laws and other laws that govern operations of insurance companies and HMOs contain certain reporting requirements, as well as restrictions on transactions between an insurer or HMO and its affiliates, and may restrict the ability of our health insurance subsidiaries to pay dividends to our holding companies. For example, under the regulations of certain states, our insurance subsidiaries may not declare or distribute a dividend to shareholders except out of earned surplus. Holding company laws and regulations generally require registration with applicable state departments of insurance and the filing of reports describing capital structure, ownership, financial condition, certain intercompany transactions, enterprise risks, corporate governance, and general business operations. In addition, state insurance holding company laws and regulations generally require notice or prior regulatory approval of certain transactions including acquisitions, material intercompany transfers of assets, and guarantees and other transactions between the regulated companies and their affiliates, including parent holding companies. Applicable state insurance holding company acts also restrict the ability of any person to obtain control of an insurance company or HMO without prior regulatory approval. These acts generally define “control” as the direct or indirect power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person and is presumed to exist if a person directly or indirectly owns or controls 10% or more of the voting securities of another person. Some state laws have different definitions or applications of this standard. Dispositions of control generally are also regulated under applicable state insurance holding company laws.
The states of domicile of our health insurance subsidiaries have statutory risk-based capital (“RBC”) requirements for insurance companies and HMOs. Most of our subsidiaries are subject to requirements based on the Risk-Based Capital For Health Organizations Model Act, with a few subsidiaries subject to state-specific RBC requirements that are not based on, but function similarly to, the Model Act. These RBC requirements are intended to assess the capital adequacy of life and health insurers and HMOs, taking into account the risk characteristics of a company’s investments and products. In general, under these laws, an insurance company or HMO must submit a report of its RBC level to the insurance regulator of its state of domicile. These laws typically require increasing degrees of regulatory oversight and intervention if a company’s RBC declines below certain thresholds. As of December 31, 2024, the RBC levels of our insurance and HMO subsidiaries expect to meet or exceed all applicable mandatory RBC requirements. For more information on RBC capital and additional liquidity and capital requirements, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Overview.”
Additionally, as a company that directly or indirectly controls insurers, we have an obligation to adopt a formal enterprise risk management (“ERM”) function and file enterprise risk reports on an annual basis. The ERM function and reports must address any activity, circumstance, event, or series of events involving the insurer that, if not remedied promptly, is likely to have a material adverse effect upon the financial condition or liquidity of the insurer, including anything that would cause the insurer’s RBC to fall below certain threshold levels or that would cause further transaction of business to be hazardous to policyholders or creditors, or the public. Similarly, in accordance with The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (“NAIC”) Risk Management and Own Risk Solvency Assessment Model Act, we must complete an annual “own risk and solvency assessment,” which is an internal assessment, appropriate to the nature, scale, and complexity of our company, of the material and relevant risks associated with the current business plan, and of the sufficiency of capital resources to support those risks.
Ongoing Requirements and Changes to the ACA
The ACA significantly changed the United States healthcare system. While we anticipate continued changes with respect to the ACA, either through Congress, court challenges, executive actions, or administrative action, we expect the major portions of the ACA to remain in place and continue to significantly impact our business operations and results of operations, including pricing, minimum MLRs, administration of the risk adjustment program, and the geographies in which our products are available.
The ACA prohibits annual and lifetime limits on essential health benefits, member cost-sharing on specified preventive benefits, and pre-existing condition exclusions. Further, the ACA implemented certain requirements for insurers, including the minimum MLR provision that requires insurers to pay rebates to members when insurers do not meet or exceed the specified annual MLR thresholds and requirements related to the quality, credentialing, availability and accessibility of contracted providers participating in our healthcare professional networks. In addition, the ACA required a number of other changes with significant effects on both federal and state health insurance markets, including strict rules on how health insurance is rated, what benefits must be offered, the assessment of new taxes and fees, the creation of public Health Insurance Marketplaces for individuals and small employer group health insurance and the availability of premium subsidies for qualified individuals. The ACA allows individual states to choose to enact additional state-specific requirements that extend ACA mandates and some of the states where we operate have implemented higher MLR percentage requirements, lower tobacco user rating ratios, and different age curve variations. Changes to our business environment are likely to continue as elected officials at the national and state levels continue to enact, and both elected officials and candidates for election continue to propose significant modifications to existing laws and regulations. For information on risks associated with ACA and changes to ACA, see “Risk Factors—Most Material Risks to Us—Any potential repeal of, changes to, or judicial challenges to the ACA and its regulations, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.”
In general, the individual market risk pool that includes Health Insurance Marketplaces has changed significantly since its inception in 2014 and continues to exhibit risk volatility. Based on our experience in Health Insurance Marketplaces to date, we have made adjustments to our premium rates and participation footprint, and we will continue to evaluate the performance of such products going forward.
In addition, insurers have faced uncertainties related to federal government funding for various ACA programs. The ACA established significant subsidies to support the purchase of health insurance by individuals, in the form of APTCs, available through Health Insurance Marketplaces. APTCs are available to most individuals and families making between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (“FPL”). The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) increased the size of APTCs for individuals and families at every income level during 2021 and 2022, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 renewed the enhanced APTCs for three years through the end of 2025. The enhanced APTCs result in $0 premiums for members under 150% FPL and lower premiums for all income brackets, with no member paying more than 8.5% of their income in premium. If Congress does not take action, the enhanced APTC subsidies will expire at the end of 2025 and the pre-ARPA subsidy structure will be reinstated.
Further, implementation of the ACA brings with it significant oversight responsibilities by health insurers that may result in increased governmental audits, increased assertions of alleged False Claims Act (“FCA”) liability, and an increased risk of other litigation.
Federal regulatory agencies continue to modify regulations and guidance related to the ACA and markets more broadly. Some of the more significant ACA rules are described below:
•The minimum MLR threshold for the individual market, as defined by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), is 80%. Certain states require us to meet more restrictive MLR thresholds. For example, New York state law requires an 82% MLR for individual products and plans. These minimum MLR thresholds are based on definitions of an MLR calculation provided by HHS, or specific states, as applicable, and differ from our calculation of MLR based on premium revenue and benefit expense as reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Definitions under applicable MLR regulations also impact insurers differently depending upon their organizational structure or tax status, which could result in a competitive advantage to some insurance providers that may not be available to us, resulting in an uneven playing field in the industry. Failure to meet the minimum MLR thresholds triggers an obligation to issue premium rebates to members.
•The ACA directed the HHS Secretary to develop a system that rates qualified health plans (“QHPs”), certified by the Health Insurance Marketplace based on relative quality and price. As a QHP issuer, we must submit quality rating information in accordance with CMS guidelines as a condition of certification and participation in the Health Insurance Marketplaces. Our overall ratings, represented on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0 stars, are based on three categories: member experience, medical care, and plan administration. Quality rating information for QHPs is publicly displayed and accessible to consumers on all Health Insurance Marketplaces.
•Federal regulations require premium rate increases to be reviewed for individual products above specified thresholds that may be adjusted from time to time and enrollees to be notified of the premium rate increase in advance. The regulations provide for state insurance regulators to conduct the reviews, except in cases where a state lacks the resources or authority to conduct the required rate reviews, in which cases HHS will conduct the reviews.
•Prior to the implementation of the ACA, health insurers were permitted to use differential pricing based on factors such as health status, gender, and age. The ACA prohibits health insurers selling ACA-regulated plans in the individual market from using health status and gender in the determination of the insurance premium. In addition, age rating under the ACA is limited to a 3:1 ratio for adults age 21 and older, and tobacco use rating is limited to a 1.5:1 ratio. States also may choose to enact more restrictive rules than the federal minimum standards.
•CMS administers an ACA risk adjustment program, which is a system designed to stabilize premiums across the market by redistributing funds from plans with relatively healthy members to plans with higher-risk members. Under the program, each plan is assigned a risk score based upon demographic information and current year claims information related to its members. Plans with lower than average risk scores relative to the estimated market average risk score, when applied to the statewide average premium, will have a risk adjustment payable into the pool. Inversely, plans with higher than average risk scores relative to the estimated market average risk score, when applied to the statewide average premium, will have a risk adjustment receivable from the pool. In addition, the CMS and the HHS Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”) perform risk adjustment data valuation (“RADV”) audits of health insurance plans to validate the coding practices of and supporting documentation maintained by healthcare providers, and such audits can result in adjustments to risk transfer payments.
•CMS has oversight of agents, brokers, and enhanced direct enrollment entities, all of whom facilitate member enrollments in coverage in the individual market. From time to time, CMS may issue regulations relating to administrative or operational requirements for these entities including but not limited to their licensure, program integrity requirements and processes to confirm eligibility of applicants. CMS has recently been increasingly focused on improving integrity in the eligibility and enrollment process and preventing unauthorized changes in consumer enrollments by agents and brokers, and we expect this focus to continue. For example, in 2024 CMS: (i) enhanced the ACA broker agent of record process to require stricter documentation and consumer consent protocols; (ii) required the Federal Marketplace to accept only applications submitted by agents and brokers through Classic Direct Enrollment and Enhanced Direct Enrollment pathways that include verifiable Social Security Numbers for all individuals over 90 days old; and (iii) required applications submitted by agents and brokers for non-citizen applicants to include a verifiable immigration document.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 delinked the Medicaid continuous coverage from the end of the public health emergency (“PHE”) for COVID-19, and Medicaid redeterminations were required to begin by April 1, 2023. Although redeterminations were expected to conclude by June 2024, CMS directed certain states to temporarily pause procedural terminations while they addressed issues in the renewal process that led to increased procedural disenrollments. CMS also announced an SEP that began March 31, 2023 and ended November 30, 2024. Data from CMS on Medicaid
redeterminations showed significant increases in ACA plan enrollments among consumers in 2023 and 2024 who lost Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program (“CHIP”) coverage. While CMS announced in 2024 that all unwinding-related renewals for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP must be completed no later than December 31, 2025, our understanding is that the majority of states have now substantially completed their unwinding processes. We anticipate that any future impact on our membership in connection with ACA enrollments due to the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition will not be as significant as the membership growth we experienced in plan year 2024.
The Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (“NBPP”) final rule is issued annually and contains comprehensive updates to ACA regulations. The NBPP for plan year 2025 was released on April 15, 2024, and the NBPP for plan year 2026 was issued on January 13, 2025. CMS limits the number of non-standard plan options that QHP issuers may offer on the federal ACA marketplace to two per product network type, per metal level (excluding catastrophic plans). QHP issuers were historically permitted to offer up to four non-standardized plan options. Unless the new presidential administration amends the NBPP for plan year 2026, the reduction in the number of non-standard plan offerings may limit our ability to offer innovative plan designs and continue to introduce uncertainty and disruption into the ACA marketplace. CMS has created an exceptions process for plans offered beyond the limit of two non-standardized plans if they provide twenty five percent reduced cost-sharing for chronic and high-cost condition benefits. This exceptions process provides a limited opportunity for innovation for products designed to serve members with chronic and high-cost condition benefits.
Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Standards Regulation
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (together, “HIPAA”) and the administrative simplification provisions of HIPAA impose a number of requirements on covered entities (including health insurers, HMOs, group health plans, certain providers, and clearinghouses) and their business associates relating to the use, disclosure and safeguarding of PHI. These requirements include uniform standards of common electronic healthcare transactions and privacy and security regulations, and unique identifier rules for employers, health plans, and providers.
In addition, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 and corresponding implementing regulations have imposed additional requirements on the use and disclosure of PHI such as additional breach notification and reporting requirements, contracting requirements for HIPAA business associate agreements, and strengthened enforcement mechanisms and increased penalties for HIPAA violations. Federal consumer protection laws may also apply in some instances to our privacy and security practices related to personally identifiable information.
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office for Civil Rights (OCR), issued a proposed rule to improve cybersecurity and better protect the U.S. health care system from a growing number of cyberattacks. The proposed rule would modify the HIPAA Security Rule to require health plans and payers (insurance companies), and most health care providers, and their business associates, to strengthen cybersecurity protections for individuals’ protected health information. This proposed rule is the latest step taken by OCR to address more frequent cyberattacks targeting the U.S. health care system, consistent with the HHS Healthcare and Public Health critical infrastructure sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals.
We maintain an internal HIPAA compliance program, which is designed to comply with HIPAA privacy and security regulations, adapt to new requirements if finalized, and have dedicated resources to monitor compliance with this program.
In addition, Health Insurance Marketplaces are required to adhere to privacy and security standards with respect to personally identifiable information and to impose privacy and security standards that are at least as protective as those the marketplaces must follow. These standards may differ from, and be more stringent than, HIPAA.
The use and disclosure of certain data that we collect or process about or from individuals are also regulated in some instances by other federal laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), and state statutes implementing GLBA, in connection with insurance transactions in the states where we operate. Additionally, in response to the growing threat of cyber-attacks in the insurance industry, certain jurisdictions, including New York, have begun to consider new cybersecurity measures, including the adoption of cybersecurity regulations. In March 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) promulgated Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies, which were amended in 2023 and require covered financial institutions to establish, implement and maintain a cybersecurity program and cybersecurity policies and procedures that meet specific requirements. Additionally, in 2017 the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) adopted the Insurance Data Security Model Law, which established standards for data security and for the investigation and notification of insurance commissioners of cybersecurity events involving unauthorized access to, or the misuse of, certain nonpublic information. A number of states have enacted the Insurance Data Security Model Law or similar laws, and we expect more states to follow.
There are also numerous state and federal laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of health information. Laws in all 50 states require businesses to provide notices to affected individuals whose personal information has been disclosed as a result of a data breach, and certain states require notifications for data breaches involving individually identifiable health information. Most states require holders of personal information to maintain safeguards and take certain actions in response to a data breach, such as maintaining reasonable security measures and providing prompt notification of the breach to affected individuals and the state’s attorney general. For further discussion, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework that Governs Us.”
Furthermore, states have begun enacting more comprehensive privacy laws and regulations addressing consumer rights to data protection or transparency that may affect our privacy and security practices. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2023 (“CPRA”) began a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States, and multiple states have enacted, or are expected to enact, similar laws, including the Oregon Consumer Privacy Law which took effect on July 1, 2024, not all of which exempt insurance companies categorically. Newer federal regulations requiring additional transparency could also materially impact our operations. These regulations include federal regulation on data interoperability requiring member data to be made available to third parties unaffiliated with Oscar, as well as federal regulations requiring hospitals and insurers to publish negotiated prices for services as well as the most accurate out-of-pocket cost estimate possible based on an individual’s health plan for procedures, drugs, durable medical equipment, and other items or services.
In addition, certain of our businesses are also subject to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI-DSS”), which is a multifaceted security standard that is designed to protect credit card account data as mandated by PCI entities. We rely on vendors to assist us with PCI-DSS matters and to maintain PCI-DSS compliance. Our business and operations are also subject to federal, state, and local consumer protection laws governing the use of email and telephone marketing.
Fraud, Waste and Abuse Laws and the False Claims Act
Because we receive payments from federal governmental agencies, we may be subject to various laws commonly referred to as “fraud, waste, and abuse” laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the Physician Self-Referral Law (“Stark Law”), and the FCA. These laws permit the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the HHS-OIG, CMS, and other enforcement authorities to institute a claim, action, investigation, or other proceeding against us for violations and, depending on the facts and circumstances, to seek treble damages, criminal, civil, or administrative fines, penalties, and assessments. Violations of these laws can also result in exclusion, debarment, temporary or permanent suspension from participation in government healthcare programs, the institution of corporate integrity agreements (“CIAs”), and/or other heightened monitoring of our operations. Liability under such statutes and regulations may arise if, among other things, we knew, or it is determined that we should have known, that information we provided to form the basis for a claim for government payment was false or fraudulent, or that we were out of compliance with program requirements considered material to the government’s payment decision. Companies who receive funds from federal and state governmental agencies are required to maintain compliance programs to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse. Although our compliance program is designed to meet all statutory and regulatory requirements, our policies and procedures are frequently under review and subject to updates, and our training and education programs continue to evolve.
Fraud, waste, and abuse prohibitions encompass a wide range of activities, including, but not limited to, kickbacks or other inducements for referral of members or for the coverage of products (such as prescription drugs) by a plan, billing for unnecessary medical services by a healthcare provider, payments made to excluded providers, and improper marketing and beneficiary inducements. In particular, there has recently been increased scrutiny by the DOJ on health plans’ diagnosis coding and risk adjustment practices, particularly for Medicare Advantage plans, which we offered until the plan year 2024. The regulations, contractual requirements, and policies applicable to participants in government healthcare programs are complex and subject to change. Health insurers are required to maintain compliance programs to prevent, detect, and remediate fraud, waste, and abuse, and are often the subject of fraud, waste, and abuse investigations and audits.
In addition to the FCA, under the federal Civil Monetary Penalties Law, the HHS-OIG has the authority to impose civil penalties against any person who, among other things, knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, certain false or otherwise improper claims. There also is FCA liability for knowingly or improperly avoiding repayment of an overpayment received from the government and/or failing to promptly report and return such overpayment. Qui tam actions can be brought by private individuals (for example, a “whistleblower,” such as a disgruntled current or former competitor, member, or employee) on behalf of the government alleging that a company has defrauded the government, and the FCA permits the private individual to share in any settlement of, or judgment entered in, the lawsuit. Qui tam actions have increased significantly in recent years, causing greater numbers of healthcare companies to have to defend a false claim action, pay substantial settlement amounts, and/or enter into a CIA and/or other heightened monitoring arrangements to avoid exclusion from government healthcare programs as a result of an investigation arising out of such action. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework that Governs Us—We are subject to extensive fraud, waste, and abuse laws that may require us to take remedial measures or give rise to lawsuits and claims against us, the outcome of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.”
Further, analogous state laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, may be broader in scope than their federal equivalents; state insurance laws require insurance companies to comply with state regulations.
Guaranty Fund Assessments
Under certain state insolvency or guaranty association laws, insurance companies and HMOs can be assessed for amounts paid by guaranty funds for policyholder losses incurred when an insurance company or HMO becomes insolvent. Most state insolvency or guaranty association laws currently provide for assessments based upon the amount of premiums received on insurance underwritten within such state (with a minimum amount payable even if no premium is received). Under many of these guaranty association laws, assessments are made or adjusted retrospectively. Some states permit insurers or HMOs to recover assessments paid through full or partial premium tax offsets, or through future policyholder surcharges. The amount and timing of any future assessments cannot be predicted with certainty; however, future assessments may occur.
Corporate Practice of Medicine and Fee-Splitting Laws
Oscar Medical Group, which consists of four physician-owned professional corporations, functions as a direct medical service provider and, as such, our arrangements with Oscar Medical Group are subject to additional laws and regulations. Some states have corporate practice of medicine laws prohibiting specific types of entities from practicing medicine or employing physicians to practice medicine. Moreover, some states prohibit certain entities from engaging in fee-splitting practices which involve sharing in the fees or revenues of a professional practice. These prohibitions may be statutory or regulatory, or may be imposed through judicial or regulatory interpretation. The laws, regulations and interpretations in certain states have been subject to limited judicial and regulatory interpretation and are subject to change. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We make virtual healthcare services available to our members through Oscar Medical Group, in which we do not own any equity or voting interest, and our virtual care availability may be disrupted if our arrangements with providers like the Oscar Medical Group become subject to legal challenges.”
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
Our website is www.hioscar.com. Through the “Investor Relations” section of our website (ir.hioscar.com), we make available free of charge a variety of information for investors, including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file that material with or furnish it to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
We announce material information to the public about us, our products and services, and other matters through a variety of means, including filings with the SEC, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and the investor relations section of our website in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public and for complying with our disclosure obligation under Regulation FD.
The information disclosed by the foregoing channels could be deemed to be material information. As such, we encourage investors, the media, and others to follow the channels listed above and to review the information disclosed through such channels.
Any updates to the list of disclosure channels through which we will announce information will be posted on the “Investor Relations” section of our website. Except as specifically indicated otherwise, the information found or available by hyperlink on our website or any other outlets we identify from time to time is not and shall not be deemed to be part of this or any other report we file with, or furnish to, the SEC.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes, as well as our other filings with the SEC. The occurrence of any of the events described below could harm our business, operating results, financial condition, liquidity, or prospects, and could cause our actual results to differ materially from historical results and those expressed in forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf in filings with the SEC, press releases, communications with investors, and oral statements. In any such event, the market price of our Class A common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, may also impair our business.
Most Material Risks to Us
Our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be harmed if we fail to execute our strategy and manage our growth effectively.
Our strategy includes, without limitation, acquiring new members and retaining existing members, introducing new products and plans, expanding into new markets and lines of business, and monetizing our technology through our +Oscar platform.
We may from time to time expand our membership by entering into new markets, introducing new health plans in the markets in which we currently operate, or entering into new lines of business. As we take these steps, we may incur significant expenses prior to commencement of operations and the receipt of revenue in new markets or from new plans, including significant time and expense in obtaining the regulatory approvals and licenses necessary to grow our operations. For example, in order to obtain a certificate of authority to market and sell insurance in most jurisdictions, we must establish an adequate provider network and demonstrate our ability to perform or delegate utilization management and other administrative functions, and we may be unable to complete these operational steps in a timely manner or at all. In addition, there are requirements and standards that need to be met, including in some cases an annual recertification process, in order to participate on Health Insurance Marketplaces. Even if we are successful in obtaining a certificate of authority, regulators may not approve our proposed benefit designs, provider networks, or premium levels, or may require us to change them or otherwise operate in ways that harm our profitability. If we are unable to obtain the approvals or licenses necessary, or otherwise meet regulatory and Health Insurance Marketplace requirements, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
As we expand our member base and enter new markets, we are also required to contribute capital to our insurance subsidiaries to fund capital and surplus requirements, escrows, or contingency guaranties, which may, at times, be significant. If we are successful in establishing a new health plan or entering a new market, increasing membership, revenues and medical costs could trigger further increased capital requirements, including risk-based capital (“RBC”), that could substantially exceed the net income generated by the health plan or in the new market. In certain states, the applicable statutes mandate higher capital requirements for an initial seasoning period, which may be reduced at the regulator’s discretion. In addition, our membership may increase as a result of other factors over which we have limited control, including as a result of regulatory actions or other developments that contribute to an increase in participants in the Health Insurance Marketplace, which similarly could trigger further increased capital requirements that could be substantial. We may not be able to fund on a timely basis, or at all, the increased contribution and RBC requirements with our available cash resources, and may need to incur indebtedness or issue additional capital stock. In the event we need access to capital for such purposes, our ability to obtain such capital may be limited and may come at significant cost. Further, in light of market uncertainty, we have taken, and may in the future take, preemptive steps designed to prudently manage our membership and capital position.
Further, we may experience delays in operational start dates as we enter new markets or decide to exit geographic markets or terminate insurance products, which could not only result in financial harm, but also reputational harm to our brand. For example, the Company has previously determined to exit certain geographic markets and terminate certain insurance products, such as when we paused offering products in the California individual market for plan year 2024, our exit from the Medicare Advantage market for plan year 2024, and our exit from the small group market, including non-renewal of our Cigna + Oscar relationship, effective at the end of 2024. In addition, if competitors seek to retain market share by reducing prices, we may be forced to reduce our prices on similar plan offerings in order to remain competitive. There is no assurance that a reduction in our plan pricing would enable us to maintain our competitive position, and any such reduction could
impact our financial condition or require a change in our operating strategies. As a result of these factors, entering new markets or introducing new health plans may decrease our profitability.
We may also from time to time enter into new lines of business in which we have no or limited direct prior experience, or expand the insurance products that we offer. For example, we are working with a variety of ICHRA platforms to transition small, mid-sized and large employers to the individual market where their employees can choose an Oscar product that meets their individual needs. The new business lines and insurance products that we pursue may not perform as well as expected, may not achieve timely profitability, may incur significant or unexpected time and expense, and may expose us to additional liability, which may result in financial harm or reputational harm to our brand.
We also pursue opportunities to monetize our technology platform through +Oscar and we may be in discussions with respect to one or more such opportunities at any given time. To offer our +Oscar platform administrative services, we may be required to obtain and maintain licenses and approvals in new and existing markets, including for third party administrative services, utilization review administrative services, pharmacy benefit administration, or preferred provider network administration services. We may not be able to do so on our expected timetable or at all, or to otherwise expand our administrative service offerings. Even if we are able to obtain necessary licenses and approvals, our +Oscar arrangements may pose further operational challenges, may not be implemented on our expected timetable or at all, may not perform as well as expected, may not achieve timely profitability or expected synergies, may require us to incur additional costs, may expose us to additional liability, or may result in limitations on our ability to offer products in certain insurance markets and geographic regions. In the past, we have faced issues performing on our +Oscar commitments and may in the future face similar issues with respect to our +Oscar or other commitments. If we are not able to successfully implement and/or perform on our +Oscar arrangements, this may limit our ability to retain current +Oscar clients or obtain +Oscar clients in the future.
We may also pursue opportunistic partnerships and acquisitions to allow us to provide better healthcare options for our members as well as to augment existing operations, and we may be in discussions with respect to one or more partnerships or acquisitions at any given time. Partnerships or other acquisition opportunities that we enter into may not perform as well as expected, may not achieve timely profitability or expected synergies, may expose us to additional liability, or may limit our ability to offer products in certain insurance markets and geographic regions.
Pursuing our strategy requires significant capital expenditures, the allocation of valuable management and operational resources, and the hiring of additional personnel, and may strain our operations and our financial and management controls and reporting systems and procedures. For example, we have experienced, and may in the future experience, challenges with respect to our operations, including with respect to our claims systems, and these difficulties could increase as our membership increases and as we expand into new markets or business lines. We also have experienced and may in the future experience attrition, which may further exacerbate these challenges. If we are unable to effectively execute our strategy and effectively manage our operations, systems and controls, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our success and ability to grow our business depend in part on retaining and expanding our member base. If we fail to add new members or retain current members, or manage our membership growth appropriately to meet our business objectives, our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition could be harmed.
We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from direct policy premiums, which are primarily driven by the number of members covered by our health plans. As a result, the size of our member base is critical to our success. We have experienced significant member growth since we commenced operations; however, we may not be able to maintain this growth or manage our membership growth appropriately to meet our business objectives, and our member base could decrease rapidly or shrink over time.
There are many factors that could negatively affect our ability to retain existing members and expand our member base, many of which are beyond our direct control, including if:
•we are unable to remain competitive on member experience, pricing, and insurance coverage options;
•we are unable to gain access to quality providers;
•we are unable to develop or maintain competitive provider networks, or maintain adequate networks that comply with regulatory requirements and standards;
•insurance brokers that we rely on to build our member base are unable to market our insurance products effectively;
•we fail to attract brokers to sell our insurance products or lose important broker relationships to our competitors or otherwise, including in circumstances where we require brokers to use different enrollment services vendors;
•the enhanced APTCs under the ARPA are eliminated or reduced, or other APTCs or subsidies under the ACA are eliminated or reduced;
•our competitors or new market entrants successfully mimic our innovative product offerings or our full stack technology platform;
•we are unable to maintain licenses and approvals, or there are material modifications or restrictions on our ability to offer insurance in our current markets or to participate on Health Insurance Marketplaces, obtain licenses and approvals to offer insurance in new markets, or to otherwise expand our plan offerings in an economically sustainable manner;
•we fail to continue to offer differentiated and competitive products, including as a result of new or revised regulations, such as the NBPP;
•initiatives designed to improve member and provider experience, including the use of AI Technologies or other new technologies, are unsuccessful or discontinued, whether as a result of actions by us, our competitors, regulators, or other third parties;
•as a result of changes in law or otherwise, our competitors participate in the individual market to a greater extent than they have previously;
•there is an initiation of new SEPs or other unexpected healthcare market developments, including in response to legislative, regulatory or political developments and executive orders;
•our digital platform experiences technical or other problems or disruptions that frustrate the experience of members or providers or other third party partners;
•we or our partners or other third parties with whom we collaborate sustain a cyber-attack or suffer privacy or data security breaches;
•regulatory actions to improve the integrity in the ACA eligibility and enrollment process, such as the measures enacted by the CMS in 2024, make it more difficult for members to enroll in new plans or switch from one plan to another or otherwise retroactively remove members from ACA plans;
•we experience unfavorable shifts in perception of our digital platform or other member service channels;
•we suffer reputational harm to our brand resulting from negative publicity, whether accurate or inaccurate;
•our strategic partners terminate or fail to renew our current contracts or we fail to enter into contracts with new strategic partners; or
•our efforts to partner with ICHRA platforms to transition small, mid-sized and large employers to the individual market where their employees can choose an Oscar product are not successful, take significantly more time than expected to be successful.
We operate in a highly competitive environment and some of the health insurers with which we compete have greater financial and other resources, offer a broader scope of products, and may be able to price their products more competitively than ours. Many of our competitors also have relationships with more providers and provider groups than we do, and can offer a larger network or obtain better unit cost economics. Our inability to overcome these challenges could impair our ability to attract new members and retain existing members, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition. Additionally, if we are not able to grow our membership, we may be unable to attract additional partners to our +Oscar platform or maintain existing +Oscar partnerships, which could impact our ability to execute our growth strategy.
Failure to accurately estimate our incurred medical expenses or effectively manage our medical costs or related administrative costs could negatively affect our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.
We set our premiums in advance of each policy year based on competitive factors in each market in which we participate as well as a projection of future expenses. As a result, the profitability of our insurance business depends, to a significant degree, on our ability to accurately estimate and effectively manage our medical expenses and administrative costs.
Numerous factors impact our ability to accurately estimate and control our medical expenses, many of which are not within our control, including, but not limited to:
•the occurrence of natural disasters, terrorism, public health emergencies, major epidemics and pandemics;
•changes in healthcare regulations and practices, including subregulatory guidance, regulations, or statutes that govern individual plans, or the Health Insurance Marketplaces;
•the impact on market morbidity of ongoing Medicaid redeterminations and the potential elimination of enhanced APTC;
•the broader competitive landscape, including new membership resulting from other health insurers exiting our markets, initiation of new SEPs and general expansion of the individual health insurance market;
•lack of credible data in new regions or with respect to new plan offerings;
•changes in the utilization of prescription drugs, medical services or other covered items or services;
•increases in the costs of healthcare facilities and services, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, including due to the introduction and adoption of new or costly medical technologies and pharmaceuticals or as a result of macroeconomic inflationary effects;
•changes in our member demographic mix, the geographic concentration of our members, and the distribution of members among our plans;
•changes in purchase discounts or pharmacy volume rebates received from drug manufacturers and wholesalers, or the guaranteed minimum discounts or rebates we agree to with the pharmacy benefit manager that negotiates and collects such discounts and rebates on our behalf;
•increased incidences or acuity of high dollar claims related to catastrophic illnesses or medical conditions, including claims for which we may not have adequate reinsurance coverage;
•changes or reductions of our utilization management functions such as preauthorization of services, concurrent review or requirements for physician referrals;
•continued increases in broker fees due to the proportion of broker-acquired business continuing to increase in line with the macro trend in the Health Insurance Marketplace of fewer members signing up directly on exchanges;
•provider or broker fraud
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 delinked Medicaid redeterminations from the end of the PHE for COVID-19, and Medicaid redeterminations were required to begin by April 1, 2023. Although redeterminations were expected to conclude by June 2024, CMS directed certain states to temporarily pause procedural terminations while they addressed issues in the renewal process that led to increased procedural disenrollments. CMS also announced an SEP that began March 31, 2023 and ended November 30, 2024. Data from CMS on Medicaid redeterminations showed significant increases in ACA plan enrollments among consumers in 2023 and 2024 who lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage. While CMS announced in 2024 that all unwinding-related renewals for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP must be completed no later than December 31, 2025, our understanding is that the majority of states have now substantially completed their unwinding processes. We anticipate that any future impact on our membership in connection with ACA enrollments due to the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment condition will not be as significant as the membership growth we experienced in plan year 2024. However, we cannot predict ACA plan enrollment patterns and the potential impact of recent and future enrollments on market morbidity, and the related impact on our underwriting margin, risk adjustment payables and MLR is therefore uncertain.
Due to the time lag between when services are actually rendered by providers and when we receive, process, and pay a claim for those services, our medical expenses include a provision for claims incurred but not paid. Given the uncertainties inherent in making estimates for such provisions, there can be no assurance that our claims liability estimate will be adequate, and any adjustments to the estimate may unfavorably impact, potentially in a material way, our reported results of operations and financial condition. Further, our inability to estimate our claims liability may also affect our ability to take timely corrective actions, further exacerbating the extent of any adverse effect on our results.
We also incur substantial administrative costs, particularly distribution costs, the costs of scaling and improving our operations and the costs of hiring and retaining personnel. External factors, including general economic conditions such as inflation and unemployment levels, are generally beyond our control and could further reduce our ability to accurately estimate and effectively control our administrative expenses, including the cost of our third party vendors. Furthermore, regulatory changes or developments may require us to change our existing practices with respect to broker commissions and could potentially result in a substantial increase in related costs or limit our ability to manage those costs in the future. Any such increase in costs could cause our actual results to differ, potentially materially, from our prior expectations. As a result of our market expansion, expansion of our plan offerings and growth of our membership, our anticipated medical expenses and administrative costs are subject to additional uncertainty.
From time to time in the past, our actual results have varied from those expected, particularly in times of significant changes in the number of our members or when we commence or exit operations in a new state or region. If it is determined that our
estimates are significantly different from actual results, our results of operations and financial position could be adversely affected.
We have a history of losses, and we may not maintain profitability in the future.
For the year ended December 31, 2024 we had consolidated net income of $26.1 million and consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $199.2 million, which was the first time since our inception in 2012 that we achieved profitability on either a consolidated net income or Adjusted EBITDA basis. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $2,851.3 million. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Results of Operations-Adjusted EBITDA” for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure.”
While we achieved profitability on a consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and net income basis in 2024, we may not be able to continue to do so in the future. In addition, we may make additional investments to further market, develop, and expand our business. These include hiring additional personnel; continuing to develop our proprietary full stack technology platform, member engagement engine and operations, including by utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning; acquiring more members; maintaining existing members; investing in partnerships, collaborations and acquisitions; expanding into additional business lines, such as ICHRA; and expanding our +Oscar platform offerings. The commissions we offer to brokers could also continue to materially increase as we compete to attract new members. If our investments are not successful longer-term, our business and financial position may be harmed.
We may not succeed in continuing to increase our revenue or managing our medical or administrative costs on the timeline that we expect. Moreover, if our revenue declines, we may not be able to reduce costs in a timely manner because many of our costs are fixed, at least in the short-term. If we are unable to manage our costs effectively, this may limit our ability to optimize our business model, acquire new members, enter into new lines of business, enter into +Oscar platform arrangements and grow our revenues. Accordingly, despite our best efforts to do so, we may not maintain profitability, and we may incur further significant losses in the future.
Any changes to the ACA and its regulations could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
For each of the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, approximately 97% of our revenue was derived from sales of health plans subject to regulation under the ACA, primarily comprised of policies directly purchased by individuals and families and secondarily comprised of policies purchased by small employers and provided to their employees as a benefit. Consequently, changes to, or repeal of, portions or the entirety of the ACA and its regulations, as well as judicial interpretations in response to legal and other constitutional challenges, could materially and adversely affect our business and financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Even if the ACA is not amended or repealed, elected and appointed officials could continue to propose changes and courts could render opinions impacting the ACA, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
The ACA also established significant subsidies to support the purchase of health insurance by individuals, in the form of advanced premium tax credits, or APTCs, available through Health Insurance Marketplaces. The ARPA increased the size of APTCs for individuals at every household income level for 2021 and 2022, and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 renewed the enhanced APTCs for three years through the end of 2025. During the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, approximately 92%, and 85%, respectively, of the direct policy premiums of our members were subsidized by APTCs, including enhanced APTCs under the ARPA. Although the enhanced APTCs have been extended through 2025, the future elimination or reduction of the enhanced APTCs, or other APTCs or subsidies, could make such coverage unaffordable to some individuals and thereby reduce overall participation in the Health Insurance Marketplaces and our membership. These fluctuations could have a significant adverse effect on our business and future operations, and our results of operations and financial condition. Further, the lack of federal funding of cost sharing subsidies could additionally impact Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment. Such market and political dynamics may result in unanticipated changes in the composition and risk level of the Health Insurance Marketplace risk pool, which could negatively impact our underwriting margins.
Historically, there have been significant efforts to repeal, or limit implementation of, certain provisions of the ACA. Such initiatives include repeal of the individual mandate effective in 2019, as well as easing of the regulatory restrictions placed on short-term limited duration insurance and association health plans, some or all of which may provide fewer benefits than the traditional ACA-mandated insurance benefits. The ACA has also been subject to multiple judicial challenges surrounding its constitutionality. The new presidential administration could bring possible changes in state and federal legislation
governing Health Insurance Marketplaces. Depending on these changes, this could result in fluctuations in participation from individuals seeking insurance coverage and/or possible non-renewal of existing policies. Because we rely on the Health Insurance Marketplaces, any changes to the ACA that result in reduced membership, or other changes in healthcare law and regulation, could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework that Governs Us
Our business activities are subject to ongoing, complex, and evolving regulatory obligations, and to continued regulatory review, which result in significant additional expense and the diversion of our management’s time and efforts. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements, or are unable to meet performance standards applicable to our business, our operations could be disrupted or we may become subject to significant penalties.
We operate in a highly regulated industry and we must comply with numerous and complex state and federal laws and regulations to operate our business, including requirements to maintain or renew our regulatory approvals or obtain new regulatory approvals to sell insurance and to sell specific health plans.
The NAIC has adopted the Annual Financial Reporting Model Regulation, or the Model Audit Rule, which, where adopted by states, requires expanded governance practices, risk and solvency assessment reporting, and filing of periodic financial and operating reports. Most states have adopted these or similar measures to expand the scope of regulations relating to corporate governance and internal control activities of health maintenance organizations and insurance companies. We are also required to notify, or obtain approval from, federal and/or state regulatory authorities prior to taking various actions as a business, including making changes to our network, service offerings, and the coverage of our health plans, as well as prior to entering into relationships with certain vendors and health organizations. Delays in obtaining or failure to obtain or maintain these approvals could reduce our revenue or increase our costs. Existing or future laws and rules could also require or lead us to take other actions such as changing our business practices, and could increase our liability.
The ACA implemented certain requirements for insurers, including a minimum MLR provision that requires insurers to pay rebates to consumers when insurers do not meet or exceed specified annual MLR thresholds, and anti-discrimination protections on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability, which may impact the manner in which health insurers receiving any form of federal financial assistance design and implement their benefit packages. Further, the ACA imposes significant fees, assessments, and taxes on us and other health insurers, plans and other industry participants. Additionally, there are numerous steps federal and state regulators require for continued implementation of the ACA including the annual federal updates to implementing market regulations via the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters. For example, we are required to monitor our network of contracted providers to ensure we meet specific state and/or federal quality, credentialing, availability, and accessibility requirements on an ongoing basis. If we fail to effectively comply with regulatory requirements, or fail to implement or appropriately adjust our operational and strategic initiatives with respect to the implementation of healthcare reform, or do not do so as effectively as our competitors, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Healthcare accreditation entities, such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance (“NCQA”), evaluate health plans based on various criteria, including effectiveness of care and member satisfaction. Health insurers seeking accreditation from NCQA must pass a rigorous, comprehensive review, and must annually report their performance. If we fail to achieve and maintain accreditation from agencies, such as NCQA, we could lose the ability to offer our health plans on Health Insurance Marketplaces, or in certain jurisdictions, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.
In addition, in each of the markets in which we operate, we are regulated by the relevant insurance and/or health and/or human services, or other government departments that oversee the activities of insurance and/or healthcare organizations providing or arranging to provide services to Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees or other beneficiaries. For example, our health insurance subsidiaries must comply with minimum statutory capital and other financial solvency requirements, such as deposit and surplus requirements, and related reporting requirements, as well as price transparency requirements that mandate publication or disclosure of information related to the pricing or costs of covered items or services. In October 2020, HHS issued a health transparency regulation which went into effect in July 2022 (the “Health Plan Transparency Rule”). The Health Plan Transparency Rule requires monthly disclosures of, among other things, detailed pricing information regarding our negotiated rates for all covered items and services with in-network providers and historical payments to, and billed charges from, out-of-network providers. Additional disclosures under the Health Plan Transparency Rule went into effect in 2023 (personalized out-of-pocket cost information and negotiated rates for specified healthcare items and services) and was expanded in 2024 (all items and services). In December 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act, which became effective on January 1, 2022, and requires health insurers to hold members harmless for out-of-network costs in certain circumstances, and requires that insurers and healthcare providers work to agree on out-of-network reimbursement, including through utilizing the independent dispute resolution process outlined in the No Surprises Act or a similar process established under applicable state law. Many states have enacted separate legislation addressing balance billing or surprise
medical bills. These laws and regulations vary in their approach, resulting in different impacts on the healthcare system as a whole. Our health insurance subsidiaries must also comply with numerous statutes and regulations governing the sale, marketing, and administration of insurance. We have failed in the past, and we may in the future fail, to take actions mandated by federal and/or state laws or regulations with respect to changes in our health benefits, the health insurance policies for which individuals are eligible, proposed or actual premiums, and/or other aspects of individuals’ health insurance coverage. Such failures may result in our having to take corrective action, including making remediation payments to our members or paying fines to regulators, may subject us to negative publicity, or may result in the inability to offer our health plans on Health Insurance Marketplaces. Given the complex nature of insurance regulation, we have in the past, and may in the future, misinterpret or misapply new laws and regulations, which could result in operational costs or financial impacts, as well as fines and penalties. Any such failures could also negatively impact our ability to service our existing +Oscar platform arrangements and enter into new arrangements.
Changes or developments in the health insurance markets in the United States, including passage and implementation of a law to create a single-payer or government-run health insurance program, could materially and adversely harm our business and operating results.
Our business is within the public and private sectors of the U.S. health insurance system, which are evolving quickly and subject to a changing regulatory environment, and our future financial performance will depend in part on growth in the market for private health insurance, as well as our ability to adapt to regulatory developments.
The healthcare regulatory landscape can change unpredictably and rapidly due to changes in political party legislative majorities or executive branch administrations at the state or federal level in the United States and could, among other things:
•require us to restructure our relationships with providers within our network;
•require us to contract with additional providers at unfavorable terms;
•require us to cover certain forms of care provided by out-of-network providers at rates or levels indicated by rule or statute;
•require us to implement changes to our healthcare services and types of coverage, including the offering of standardized plans in addition to or in lieu of non-standardized benefit plan offerings, or prevent us from innovating and implementing technology solutions;
•require us to provide healthcare coverage to a higher risk population without the opportunity to adjust our premiums;
•require us to change our telehealth delivery methods and payment models;
•require us to implement costly processes and compliance infrastructure;
•require us to make changes that restrict revenue and enrollment growth;
•increase our sales, marketing, and administrative costs, including costs attributable to broker commissions;
•impose additional capital and surplus requirements, which may require us to incur additional indebtedness, sell capital stock, or access other sources of funding;
•make it more difficult to obtain regulatory approvals to operate our business or maintain existing regulatory approvals;
•prevent or delay us from entering into new service areas or product lines; and
•increase or change our liability to members in the event of malpractice by our contracted providers.
Changes and developments in the health insurance system in the United States and the states in which we operate could also reduce demand for our services and harm our business. For example, certain elected officials have introduced proposals for some form of a single public or quasi-public agency that organizes healthcare financing, but under which healthcare delivery would remain private, and certain states have proposed, and in some cases passed, legislation creating a public option for individual and small group plans.
As the regulatory and legislative environments within which we operate are evolving, we may not be able to ensure timely compliance with such changes, or we may not effectively or correctly operationalize such changes, due to limited resources. Furthermore, we may face challenges prioritizing the allocation of resources between implementing systems responsive to new legislative or regulatory requirements, focusing on growth-related operations and implementing management systems and controls related to being a public company.
Changes to government policies (including those not specifically targeted to the healthcare industry), such as a change in tax laws and the corporate tax rate, premium tax rate, or government spending cuts, could have significant impacts on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
If we or any of our vendors fail to comply with laws, regulations and standards relating to the handling of information about individuals or applicable consumer protection laws, we may face significant liability, negative publicity, and/or erosion of trust, which could materially affect our business, reputation, results of operations, financial position, and cash flows; additionally, compliance with these laws, regulations, and standards involves significant expenditure and resources.
As part of our normal operations, we collect, receive, use, maintain, handle, transmit, process, and retain, which collectively in this risk factor we refer to as “Process” or “Processing,” personal, medical, sensitive and other confidential information about individuals. We also depend on a number of third party vendors in relation to the operation of our business, a number of which process data on our behalf. We and our vendors are subject to various federal and state laws, regulations, rules, and industry standards and other requirements including those that apply generally to the handling of information about individuals, and those that are specific to certain industries, sectors, contexts, or locations. These laws and regulations include, among others, HIPAA, CCPA and CPRA. These requirements, and their application, interpretation and amendment are constantly evolving and developing.
HIPAA imposes privacy, security and breach notification obligations on “covered entities,” including certain healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses, and their respective “business associates” that Process individually identifiable health information for or on behalf of a covered entity, as well as their covered subcontractors with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to develop and maintain policies and procedures with respect to the protection of, use and disclosure of PHI, and to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect PHI, including PHI Processed in electronic form, and to adhere to certain notification requirements in the event of a breach of unsecured PHI. In order to comply with HIPAA’s requirements, we must maintain adequate privacy and security measures, which require significant investments in resources and ongoing attention.
Additionally, under HIPAA, health insurers and other covered entities are also required to report breaches of PHI to affected individuals without unreasonable delay, not to exceed 60 days following discovery of the breach by a covered entity or its agents. Notification also must be made to the HHS-Office for Civil Rights and prominent media outlets in any states where 500 or more people are impacted by the breach. A non-permitted use or disclosure of PHI is presumed to be a breach under HIPAA unless the covered entity establishes that there is a low probability the information has been compromised consistent with requirements enumerated in HIPAA. Ongoing review and oversight of these measures involves significant time, effort, and expense.
Entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA as the result of a breach of unsecured PHI or following a complaint about privacy practices or an audit by the HHS, may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations if required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS to settle allegations of HIPAA non-compliance. HIPAA also authorizes state Attorneys General to file suit on behalf of their residents. Courts may award damages, costs and attorneys’ fees related to violations of HIPAA in such cases. While HIPAA does not create a private right of action allowing individuals to sue us in civil court for violations of HIPAA, its standards have been used as the basis for duty of care in state civil suits such as those for negligence or recklessness in the misuse or breach of PHI.
In addition, we are subject to the CCPA, which became effective as of January 1, 2020. The CCPA gives California residents expanded rights to access and require deletion of their personal information, opt out of certain personal information sharing, and receive detailed information about how their personal information is used. The CCPA also provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches that may increase data breach litigation. Additionally, the CPRA became effective on January 1, 2023, and it imposed additional obligations on companies covered by the legislation and significantly modified the CCPA, including by expanding consumers’ rights with respect to certain sensitive personal information. The CPRA also created a new state agency that is vested with the authority to implement and enforce the CCPA and the CPRA. Compliance with the CCPA and the CPRA may require us to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses and may increase our potential exposure to regulatory enforcement and/or litigation. The CCPA and CPRA contain exemptions to which our business is subject, such as for
medical information governed by the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, and for PHI collected by a covered entity or business associate governed by the privacy, security, and breach notification rule established pursuant to HIPAA; however, information we hold about individual residents of California that is not subject to such exceptions (or another applicable exception) would be subject to the CCPA and CPRA.
Certain other state laws also regulate issues related to consumer privacy, security and use of personal and medical information; additional states have enacted legislation similar to the CCPA and CPRA that provides consumers with new privacy rights and increases the privacy and security obligations of entities handling certain personal information of such consumers. For example, laws similar to the CCPA and CPRA have passed in Virginia, Connecticut, Texas, Utah, and Colorado, and have been proposed in other states and at the federal level, reflecting a trend toward more stringent privacy legislation in the United States. Such legislation may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact strategies and the availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. Further, in order to comply with the varying state laws around data breaches, we must maintain adequate security measures, which require significant investments in resources and ongoing attention.
We are also subject to other laws, regulations and industry standards that govern our business practices, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), which restricts the use of automated tools and technologies to communicate with wireless telephone subscribers or communications services consumers generally, the CAN-SPAM Act, which regulates the transmission of marketing emails, and the PSI-DSS, which is a multifaceted security standard that is designed to protect credit card account data as mandated by PCI-DSS entities. We may become subject to claims that we have violated these laws and standards, based on our or our vendors’ past, present, or future Processing business practices, and these claims, whether or not they have merit, could expose us to substantial statutory damages or costly settlements, which could have a material and adverse impact on our business and reputation, subject us to fines and/or require us to change our business practices.
The regulatory framework governing the Processing of certain information, particularly financial and other personal information, is rapidly evolving and is likely to continue to be subject to uncertainty and varying interpretations, including in the context of artificial intelligence where regulators are applying existing frameworks to new technology and innovation. It is possible that these laws, regulations and standards may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our existing data management practices or the features of our services and platform capabilities. We may face challenges in addressing current and evolving requirements and making necessary changes to our policies and practices, and may incur significant costs and expenses in our effort to do so. Any failure or perceived failure by us, or any third parties with which we do business, to comply with our posted privacy policies, changing consumer expectations, evolving laws, rules and regulations, industry standards, or contractual obligations to which we or such third parties are or may become subject, may result in actions or other claims against us by governmental entities or private actors, the expenditure of substantial costs, time and other resources or the incurrence of significant fines, penalties or other liabilities. If any of these events were to occur, our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
As we expand our customer base and enter into +Oscar platform arrangements, we may become subject to an increasingly complex array of data privacy and security laws and regulations, further increasing our cost of compliance and doing business. Differing laws in each jurisdiction in which we do business and changes to existing laws and regulations may also impair our ability to offer our existing or planned features, products and services and increase our cost of doing business.
We are subject to extensive fraud, waste, and abuse laws that may require us to take remedial measures or give rise to lawsuits, audits, investigations and claims against us, the outcome of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.
Because we receive payments from federal governmental agencies, we are subject to various laws commonly referred to as “fraud, waste, and abuse” laws, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal Stark Law, and the FCA. These laws permit the DOJ, the HHS-OIG, CMS, and other enforcement authorities to institute a claim, action, investigation, or other proceeding against us for violations and, depending on the facts and circumstances, to seek treble damages, criminal and civil fines, penalties, and assessments, including for any alleged violations that occurred while we offered Medicare Advantage plans. Violations of these laws can also result in exclusion, debarment, temporary or permanent suspension from participation in government healthcare programs, the institution of corporate integrity agreements (“CIAs”), and/or other heightened monitoring of our operations. Liability under such statutes and regulations may arise, among other things, if we
knew, or it is determined that we should have known, that information we provided to form the basis for a claim for government payment was false or fraudulent, or that we were out of compliance with program requirements considered material to the government’s payment decision.
Fraud, waste and abuse prohibitions encompass a wide range of activities, including, but not limited to, kickbacks or other inducements for referral of members or for the coverage of products (such as prescription drugs) by a plan, billing for unnecessary medical services by a healthcare provider, payments made to excluded providers, and improper marketing and beneficiary inducements. In certain years prior to plan year 2024, our business offerings included Medicare Advantage plans. The DOJ and the HHS-OIG have continuously increased their scrutiny of healthcare payors and providers, and Medicare Advantage insurers, under the FCA, in particular, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and settlements in the healthcare industry. In particular, there has recently been increased scrutiny by the government on health insurers’ diagnosis coding and risk adjustment practices, particularly for Medicare Advantage plans. In some proceedings involving Medicare Advantage plans, there have been allegations that certain financial arrangements with providers violate other laws governing fraud and abuse, such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. We expect this trend to continue. In addition, under applicable regulatory requirements and our policies, we must take appropriate measures to determine whether there is credible evidence that any of our members, particularly those who receive federal subsidies, were enrolled by brokers without their authorization. In such cases, we conduct certain outreach procedures under our policies and refer instances of potentially unauthorized enrollment to the appropriate authorities for potential rescission, which may also entail retroactive adjustment of membership numbers. Our failure to take appropriate measures to refer cases of fraud, waste and abuse to the relevant authorities when we are required to do so may subject us to corrective actions, including regulatory enforcement, fines and penalties, adverse publicity and other effects that could materially harm our business.
Health insurers are required to maintain compliance programs to prevent, detect and remediate fraud, waste, and abuse, and are often the subject of fraud, waste, and abuse investigations and audits.
We are periodically subject to government audits, including CMS Risk Adjustment Data Valuation (“RADV”) audits of our ACA plans to validate diagnostic data, patient claims and financial reporting, and we may be subject to ongoing RADV audits related to our historical Medicare Advantage plans and audits of our historical Medicare Part D plans by the Medicare Part D Recovery Audit Contractor (“RAC”) programs authorized by the ACA. These audits could result in significant adjustments in payments made to our health plans, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. If we fail to report and correct errors discovered through our own auditing procedures or during a RADV or RAC audit, or otherwise fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could be subject to fines, civil penalties or other sanctions which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to participate in these programs, and on our financial condition, cash flows and results of operations. On November 24, 2020, CMS issued a final rule that amends the RADV program by: (i) revising the methodology for error rate calculations beginning with the 2019 benefit year; and (ii) changing the way CMS applies RADV results to risk adjustment transfers beginning with the 2020 benefit year. According to CMS, these changes are designed to give insurers more stability and predictability with respect to the RADV program and promote fairness in how health insurers receive adjustments. CMS has also announced a policy that payment adjustments as a result of RADV audits will not be limited to the specific MA enrollees for which errors are found but may also be extrapolated to the entire MA plan subject to a particular CMS contract. Based on a final rule issued by CMS in January 2023, overpayments to MA plans that are identified as a result of RADV audit will be subject to extrapolation for plan year 2018 and any subsequent plan year. On November 14, 2024, CMS initiated the payment year 2018 MA RADV audits and expects to begin issuing payment year 2018 audit findings in mid-calendar year 2026. In addition, CMS will not apply an adjustment factor, known as a Fee-For-Service Adjuster, in RADV audits to account for potential differences in diagnostic coding between the Medicare Advantage program and Medicare fee-for-service program. The future impact of these changes remains unclear, and CMS and HHS-OIG policies and procedures for conducting RADV audits remain subject to change. These changes and any future changes to the RADV program may ultimately impact expected transfers to or from health insurers resulting from these retrospective program adjustments.
The regulations, contractual requirements, and policies applicable to participants in government healthcare programs are complex and subject to change. Moreover, many of the laws, rules, and regulations in this area have not been well-interpreted by applicable regulatory agencies or the courts. Additionally, the significant increase in actions brought under the FCA’s “whistleblower” or “qui tam” provisions, which allow private individuals to bring actions on behalf of the government, has caused greater numbers of healthcare companies to have to defend a false claim action, pay fines, or agree to enter into a CIA to avoid being excluded from Medicare and other state and federal healthcare programs as a result of an investigation arising out of such action. Health plans and providers often seek to resolve these types of allegations through
settlement for significant and material amounts, even when they do not acknowledge or admit liability, to avoid the uncertainty of treble damages that may be awarded in litigation proceedings. Such settlements often contain additional compliance and reporting requirements as part of a consent decree or settlement agreement, including, for example, CIAs, deferred prosecution agreements, or non-prosecution agreements. If we are subject to liability under qui tam or other actions or settlements, our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations could be adversely affected.
We anticipate continued scrutiny by the HHS-OIG and the DOJ in the areas of fraud, waste, and abuse, including the use of telehealth and telemedicine-based treatment, and we may be subject to audits, reviews and investigations of our telehealth coverage and payment practices and arrangements by government agencies.
Risks Related to our Business
If we are unable to arrange for the delivery of quality care, and maintain good relations with the physicians, hospitals, and other providers within and outside our provider networks, or if we are unable to enter into cost-effective contracts with such providers, or if we lose any of our limited number of in-network providers, our profitability could be adversely affected.
Our profitability depends, in large part, upon our ability to contract at competitive prices with hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers, such that we can provide our members with access to competitive provider networks at affordable prices. Our arrangements with healthcare providers generally may be terminated or not renewed by either party without cause upon prior written notice. If a provider agreement were terminated, or if we’re not able to negotiate agreements with providers, the breadth of our network to service our members could be adversely impacted, and may put us at risk of non-compliance with applicable federal and state network adequacy laws. We cannot provide any assurance that we will be able to renew our existing contracts or enter into new contracts on a timely basis or under favorable reimbursement rates and terms enabling us to service our members profitably in the future. Healthcare providers within our provider networks may not properly manage the costs of services, maintain financial solvency or avoid disputes with other providers or their federal and state regulators. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on the provision of services to our members and our operations.
In any particular market or geography, physicians and other healthcare providers could refuse to contract, demand higher payments, demand favorable contract terms, or take other actions that could result in higher medical costs or difficulty in meeting regulatory or accreditation requirements, among other things. In some markets and geographies, certain healthcare providers, particularly hospitals, physician/hospital organizations, or multi-specialty physician groups, may have significant positions or near monopolies that could result in diminished bargaining power on our part during contract negotiations. In addition, physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers may, consolidate or merge, or form or enter into accountable care organizations, clinically integrated networks, independent practice associations, practice management companies (which aggregate physician practices for administrative efficiency and marketing leverage), and other organizational structures, which may adversely impact our relationships with these providers or affect the way that we price our products and estimate our costs. Any such impacts might require us to incur costs to change our operations, place us at a competitive disadvantage, or materially and adversely affect our ability to market affordable products or to be profitable in those areas.
The insolvency of one of our partners or providers, including providers with which we have a value-based care arrangement, could expose us to material liabilities. Providers may be unable or unwilling to pay liabilities owed to us under value-based care arrangements. Providers may also be unable or unwilling to pay claims they have incurred with third party providers in connection with referral services provided to our members. Depending on state law, we may be held liable for such unpaid referral claims even though the delegated provider has contractually assumed such risk, or we may opt to pay such claims even when we have no obligation to do so due to competitive pressures. Such liabilities incurred or losses suffered as a result of provider insolvency or other circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.
In addition, from time to time, we are, and may in the future continue to be, subject to class action or other lawsuits by healthcare providers with respect to claims payment procedures, including the rate at which claims were reimbursed, reimbursement policies, network participation, or breach of contract allegations or similar matters. Regardless of whether any such lawsuits brought against us are successful or have merit, they will be time-consuming and costly, and could have an adverse impact on our reputation. As a result, under such circumstances, we may be unable to operate our business effectively.
Some providers that render services to our members are not contracted with our health insurance subsidiaries. While our health insurance subsidiaries are required to meet various federal and state requirements regarding the size and composition of our participating provider networks, we generally contract with a select subset of, and not all, systems and providers in a given area. This allows us to work more closely with high quality healthcare systems that engage with us using our technology. That approach, however, makes it possible that our members will receive emergency services, or other services which we are required to cover by law or by the terms of our health plans, from providers who are not contracted with our health insurance subsidiaries. In those cases, there is no pre-established contractual understanding between the provider and our health insurance subsidiary about the amount of compensation that is due to the provider. In some states, and under federal law for our business subject to the No Surprises Act, the amount of compensation and/or process to dispute out-of-
network reimbursement amounts is defined by law or regulation. In certain situations, our health insurance subsidiaries are required to hold our members harmless for out-of-network costs, and to work directly with healthcare providers within the confines of state law or the No Surprises Act’s dispute resolution process to agree on reimbursement. Reimbursement for these out-of-network costs can be significant. It is difficult to predict the amount we may have to pay to out-of-network providers. The uncertainty of the amount to pay to such providers and the possibility of subsequent adjustment of the payment could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.
Additionally, substantially all of our revenue depends on the direct policy premiums we collect from members or from the federal government on behalf of our members who obtain healthcare services from a limited number of providers with whom we contract. We generally manage our provider contracts on a state-by-state basis, entering into separate contracts in each state with local affiliates of a particular provider, such that no one local provider contract receives a majority of our allowed medical costs for services rendered to our members. When aggregating the payments we make to each provider through its local affiliates, AdventHealth, HCA Healthcare, and University of Miami Hospital & Medical Group accounted for a total of approximately 10%, 8% and 7%, respectively, of total allowable medical costs for the year ended December 31, 2024. Advent Health, HCA Healthcare, and University of Miami Hospital & Medical Group accounted for approximately 13%, 10% and 8%, respectively, of total allowable medical costs for the year ended December 31, 2023. We believe that a majority of our revenue will continue to be derived from direct policy premiums obtained from members who receive services from a concentrated number of providers. These providers may terminate or seek to terminate their contracts with us in the future. The sudden loss of any of our providers or the renegotiation of related provider contracts could adversely impact our reputation or the breadth of access and perceived quality of our provider networks, which could result in a loss of a membership that adversely affects our revenue and operating results.
The result of risk adjustment programs may impact our revenue, add operational complexity, and introduce additional uncertainties that have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.
The individual and small group markets we serve, and the Medicare Advantage markets we formerly served, employ risk adjustment programs that impact the revenue we recognize for our enrolled membership. We reassess the estimates of the risk adjustment settlements each reporting period and any resulting adjustments are made to premium revenue.
As a result of the variability in the mechanics of the program itself, or of certain factors that go into the development of the risk transfers we recognize, such as risk scores, and other market-level factors where applicable, the actual amount of revenue could be materially more or less than our estimates. Consequently, our estimate of our health plans’ risk scores for any period, and any resulting change in our accrual of revenues related thereto, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. The data provided to CMS to determine the risk score are subject to audit by CMS even several years after the annual settlements occur. Accordingly, we may continue to be subject to audits related to the Medicare Advantage plans that we historically offered. If the risk adjustment data we submit are found to incorrectly overstate the health risk of our members, we may be required to refund funds previously received by us and/or be subject to penalties or sanctions, including potential liability under the FCA, which could be significant and would reduce our revenue in the year that repayment or settlement is required. Further, if the data we provide to CMS incorrectly understates the health risk of our members, we might be underpaid for the care that we must provide to our members, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
If state regulators do not approve payments of dividends and distributions by our health insurance subsidiaries to us, or do not approve other capital efficiency structures we may pursue, we may not have sufficient funds to implement our business strategy.
As we operate as one or more holding companies and we principally generate revenue through our health insurance subsidiaries, we are regulated under state insurance holding company laws. As our subsidiaries have become profitable, or as some become profitable in the future, or if our current levels of reserves and capital are in excess of our requirements, we may make periodic requests for dividends and distributions from our subsidiaries to fund our operations. In addition to state corporate law limitations, these subsidiaries are subject to more stringent laws, regulations and consent orders that may restrict the ability to pay or limit the amount of dividends and distributions that can be paid to us without prior approval of, or notification to, state regulators, including mandatory statutory capital and surplus requirements. As and to the extent our subsidiaries have, and will become profitable, we may increasingly rely on distributions from our subsidiaries, and if regulators were to deny our subsidiaries’ requests to pay dividends, the funds available to us would be limited, which could harm our ability to implement our business strategy or fund our operations.
In addition, we may from time to time pursue structures to enable a more efficient use of the capital in our insurance subsidiaries, including risk pooling, affiliate reinsurance, entity consolidation, or entity stacking. Any such structure would require regulatory approval, and if regulators were to deny our requests, our ability to implement our business strategy or fund our operations would be harmed. Furthermore we have, and we may in the future, enter into tax allocation agreements between our Parent and our insurance subsidiaries, which agreements require regulatory approval, and there is no guarantee that Parent will be able to obtain the tax sharing payments from its subsidiaries under such agreements.
We utilize quota share reinsurance to meet the regulatory capital and surplus requirements and protect against downside risk on medical claims. If regulators do not approve our reinsurance agreements for this purpose, or if we cannot negotiate renewals of our quota share arrangements on acceptable terms, or at all, enter into new agreements with reinsurers, or otherwise obtain capital through debt or equity financings, our capital position would be negatively impacted, and we could fall out of compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.
We enter into quota share reinsurance arrangements to meet our capital and surplus requirements, which enables us to more efficiently deploy capital to finance our growth, and to obtain protection against downside risk on medical claims. Our reinsurers are entitled to a portion of our premiums, but also share financial responsibility for healthcare costs incurred by our members. Our decisions on claims payments are binding on the reinsurer with the exception of any payments by us that are not required to be made under the member’s policy.
The amount of business ceded under our reinsurance arrangements can vary significantly from year to year. Because reinsurers are entitled to a portion of our premiums under our quota share reinsurance arrangements, changes in the amount of premiums ceded under these arrangements may directly impact our net premium and/or net income estimates. Reductions in the amount of premiums ceded under quota share reinsurance arrangements may result in an increase to our minimum capital and surplus requirements, and an increase in corresponding capital contributions made by Parent to our health insurance subsidiaries or a decrease in funds available for distributions and dividends from our health insurance subsidiaries to Parent.
If our reinsurers consistently and successfully dispute our obligations to make a claim payment under a given policy, if we cannot renegotiate renewals of our quota share reinsurance arrangements on acceptable terms, if reinsurers terminate their arrangements with us, if we are unable to enter into reinsurance arrangements with other reinsurers, or if our reinsurance arrangements are not approved by any of our regulators (or if our regulators take a different view, whether prospectively or retroactively, with respect to the capital treatment of our reinsurance agreements), we may need to raise additional capital to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, which could be costly. For example, we estimate that had we not had any quota share reinsurance arrangements in place, the insurance subsidiaries would have been required to hold approximately $553.8 million of additional capital as of December 31, 2024, which Parent would have been required to fund to the extent the applicable insurance subsidiary did not have excess capital to cover the requirement. If we are not able to comply with our funding requirements, we would have to enter into a corrective action plan or cease operations in jurisdictions where we could not comply with such requirements. Termination of our reinsurance arrangements would also increase our exposure to volatility in medical claims. As a result, termination of our reinsurance arrangements through one or more of these scenarios could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
While our financial reporting is based on generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), our ability to receive capital reserve credit for a particular state subsidiary for our reinsurance agreements is determined by Statutory Accounting Principles, which are dependent upon state-specific laws and regulations, as interpreted and applied by state insurance regulators. In some states we are required to seek approval in advance of entering into reinsurance agreements; in others we are not, which means that we may learn of regulators’ concerns after the effective date of certain reinsurance agreements. From time to time, we include state-specific provisions in, or subsequently make state-specific amendments to, our reinsurance agreements to reflect capital reserve credit requirements imposed by particular state regulators, or may need to book additional reserves or liabilities to our insurance company statutory financial statements to address regulatory requirements or standards. The net economic effect of such provisions, amendments or actions may not be commercially favorable, and in some instances we have chosen, and may in the future choose, not to enter into certain types of reinsurance agreements, not to seek statutory reserve credit under certain agreements, or to terminate existing agreements rather than include provisions or make amendments required by a particular state in order to receive statutory reserve credit. As described above, any such decision or action would result in an increase in required capital in our insurance subsidiaries, which may be material.
Our reinsurance arrangements also subject us to various obligations, representations, and warranties with respect to the reinsurers. Reinsurance does not relieve us of liability as an insurer. If a reinsurer fails to meet its obligations under the reinsurance contract or if the liabilities exceed any applicable loss limit, we remain responsible for covering the claims on the reinsured policies. Additionally, our exposure under reinsurance arrangements may at times be disproportionately concentrated with a single reinsurer. Although we regularly evaluate the financial condition of reinsurers to minimize exposure to significant losses from reinsurer insolvencies, reinsurers may become financially unsound. If a reinsurer fails to meet its obligations or becomes financially unsound, we may have to cover the claims on such reinsured policies, which may be material.
Adverse market conditions may result in our investment portfolio suffering losses or reduce our ability to meet our financing needs, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations or liquidity.
We need liquidity to pay our operating expenses, make payments on our indebtedness, if any, and pay capital expenditures. The principal sources of our cash receipts are premiums, administrative fees, investment income, proceeds from borrowings and proceeds from the issuance of capital stock.
We maintain a significant investment portfolio of cash equivalents and primarily short-term investments in a variety of securities, which are subject to general credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risks and will decline in value if interest rates decrease or one of the issuers’ credit ratings is reduced. As a result, we may experience a reduction in value or loss of our investments, which could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations, liquidity, and financial condition.
In addition, during periods of increased volatility, adverse securities and credit markets, including those due to rising interest rates, may exert downward pressure on the availability of liquidity and credit capacity for certain issuers. While we have extended the maturity date of our Revolving Credit Facility (as defined below) to December 28, 2025, our ability to obtain any additional financing, as and to the extent the Company elects to do so, will depend on a variety of factors such as market conditions, including recessionary factors, the general availability of credit, the volume of trading activities, the availability of credit to our industry, our credit ratings and credit capacity, as well as the possibility that customers or lenders could develop a negative perception of our long- or short-term financial prospects. Similarly, our access to funds may be impaired if regulatory authorities or rating agencies take negative actions against us. Restrictions imposed by our Revolving Credit Facility and the Investment Agreement we entered into in connection with our convertible senior notes due 2031 (the “2031 Notes”) also contain covenants that restrict our ability to incur indebtedness. If one or a combination of these factors were to occur, our internal sources of liquidity may prove to be insufficient and, in such case, we may not be able to successfully obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all.
We are subject to risks associated with our geographic concentration.
The states in which we operate that have the largest concentrations of revenues include Florida, Texas and Georgia. Due to the geographic concentration of our business, we are exposed to heightened risks of potential losses resulting from unfavorable changes in the regulatory environment for healthcare, increased competition, and other regional factors in these states. The occurrence of any of these factors could result in increased utilization or medical costs in these states or any other geographic area where our membership becomes concentrated in the future, and could therefore have a disproportionately adverse effect on our operating results. States experiencing such events may enact laws and regulations that require us to cover healthcare costs for members for which we would not typically be responsible, such as requiring us to relax prior authorization requirements, remove prescription drug refill limitations, and cover out-of-network care. In addition, as a result of our geographic concentration, we face heightened exposure to the other risk factors described herein to the extent such risk factors disproportionately materialize in or impact the regions in which our operations are concentrated.
We are subject to risks associated with outsourcing services and functions to third parties.
We contract with third-party vendors and service providers who help us administer our products and plans, as well as vendors who provide services to help with our internal administrative functions. For example, Oscar delegates pharmacy claims and network management to a pharmacy benefit manager, CVS/Caremark. CVS/Caremark negotiates with drug manufacturers, wholesalers and pharmacies the prices for pharmaceuticals used by our members, including related purchase discounts and volume rebates, and directly makes payments for the pharmaceuticals and collects related rebates on our behalf. We in turn negotiate amounts we pay directly to CVS/Caremark for the pharmaceuticals, as well as minimum guaranteed rebates that CVS/Caremark pays directly to us. We also contract with Optum to provide us with access to its
network of behavioral health providers and manage behavioral health benefits for us. We cannot provide any assurance that vendors with whom we contract will honor the terms of their agreements with us or perform their contractual obligations to our satisfaction or that we will be able to renew our existing contracts or enter into new contracts on a timely basis or under favorable terms, any of which could negatively impact our ability to service our members profitably in the future. In addition, the partial or complete loss of a vendor or other third-party relationship could cause a material disruption to our business and make it difficult and costly to provide services and products that our regulators and members expect, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows, and results of operations.
Some of these third-parties have direct access to our systems in order to provide their services to us and operate the majority of our communications, network, and computer hardware and software. For example, we currently offer our products through our website and online app using platforms for cloud computing provided by Amazon Web Services, Inc. (“AWS”), a provider of cloud infrastructure services, as well as the Google Cloud Platform (“GCP”). Our operations depend on protecting the virtual cloud infrastructure hosted in AWS and GCP by maintaining its configuration, architecture, and interconnection specifications, as well as the information stored in these cloud platforms and which third-party internet service providers transmit. We also engage with other third parties, for our product offerings and internal operations. In the event that a service agreement with a third-party vendor that we rely upon is terminated, or there is a lapse of service, interruption of internet service provider connectivity, or damage to such facilities, we could experience interruptions in our operations and service to our members and business partners, as well as delays and additional expense in arranging new facilities and services, which could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our arrangements with third-party vendors and service providers may make our operations vulnerable if those third parties, either directly or through their subcontractors, fail to satisfy their obligations to us, including their obligations to maintain and protect the security and confidentiality of our information and data, or the information and data relating to our members or customers. We are also at risk of a data security incident involving a vendor or third party, which could result in a breakdown of such third party’s data protection processes or cyber-attackers gaining access to our infrastructure through the third party. To the extent that a vendor or third party suffers a data security incident that compromises its operations we could incur significant costs and possible service interruption. For example, one of our vendors in the past experienced a data security incident which required us to devote significant time and resources towards assessing the impact on our operations and member data and to secure alternative vendor relationships, even though the incident was ultimately determined to not directly result in a breach of our members’ data. In addition, we may have disagreements with our third-party vendors or service providers regarding relative responsibilities for any such failures or incidents under applicable business associate agreements or other applicable outsourcing agreements. Any contractual remedies and/or indemnification obligations we may have for vendor or service provider failures or incidents may not be adequate to fully compensate us for any losses suffered as a result of any vendor’s failure to satisfy its obligations to us or under applicable law.
Our vendor and service provider arrangements could be adversely impacted by changes in vendors’ or service providers’ operations or financial condition, or other matters outside of our control. Violations of, or noncompliance with, laws and/or regulations governing our business or noncompliance with contract terms by third-party vendors and service providers could increase our exposure to liability to our members, providers, or other third parties, or could result in sanctions and/or fines from the regulators that oversee our business. In turn, this could increase the costs associated with the operation of our business or have an adverse impact on our business and reputation. Moreover, if these vendor and service provider relationships were terminated for any reason, we may not be able to find alternative partners in a timely manner or on acceptable financial terms, and may incur significant costs and/or experience significant disruption to our operations in connection with any such vendor or service provider transition. As a result, we may not be able to meet the full demands of our members or customers and, in turn, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be harmed, and we could be subject to regulatory sanctions and fines and penalties. In addition, we may not fully realize the anticipated economic and other benefits from our outsourcing projects or other relationships we enter into with third-party vendors and service providers, as a result of unanticipated delays in transitioning our operations to the third-party vendor or service provider, such third-party vendor or service provider’s noncompliance with contract terms, unanticipated costs or expenses, or violations of laws and/or regulations, or otherwise. This could result in substantial costs or other operational or financial problems that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations.
From time to time, we may become involved in costly and time-consuming litigation and regulatory audits and actions, which require significant attention from our management.
From time to time, we are a defendant in lawsuits and the subject of regulatory actions, and are subject to audits, reviews, assessments and investigations relating to our business, including, without limitation, claims by members alleging failure to provide coverage or to pay for or authorize payment for healthcare, claims related to non-payment or insufficient payments for services by providers, including for alleged failure to properly pay in-network and out-out-network claims, claims under U.S. securities laws, claims related to breach of contract, employment related claims, claims of trademark and other intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, claims alleging bad faith or unfair business practices, challenges to the manner in which the Company processes claims, claims relating to sales, marketing and other business practices, inquiries regarding our submission of risk adjustment data, audits related to our compliance with network adequacy requirements, enforcement actions by state regulatory bodies alleging non-compliance with state law, financial and market conduct examinations by state regulatory bodies, and claims related to the imposition of new taxes, including, but not limited to, claims that may have retroactive application.
For example, on May 12, 2022, a securities class action lawsuit against the Company, certain of its directors and officers, and the underwriters that participated in the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) was commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, captioned Carpenter v. Oscar Health, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:22-CV-03885 (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Securities Action”). The amended complaint, filed on December 6, 2022, primarily alleges that the Company failed to disclose in its IPO registration statement purportedly inadequate controls and systems in connection with the risk adjustment data validation audit for 2019, in violation of Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act, and that this alleged omission caused losses and damages for members of the putative class. The amended complaint seeks unspecified compensatory damages as well as interest, fees and costs.
In addition, certain of the Company’s health insurance subsidiaries have been or are currently undergoing review by state regulators, including for, among other matters, compliance with applicable laws and regulations and reviews of financial condition. We also may receive subpoenas and other requests for information from various federal and state agencies, regulatory authorities, state Attorneys General, committees, subcommittees, and members of the U.S. Congress and other state, federal, and international governmental authorities.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation and regulatory proceedings, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings. An unfavorable outcome could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial position, results of operations, and/or cash flows, and may affect our reputation and brand. In addition, regardless of the outcome of any litigation or regulatory proceedings, investigations, audits, or reviews, responding to such matters is costly and time consuming, and requires significant attention from our management, and could, therefore, harm our business and financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Insurance may not cover such claims, may not provide sufficient payments to cover all of the costs to resolve one or more such claims, and may result in our having to pay significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if uninsured, or if the fines, judgments, and settlements exceed insured levels, could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows, thereby harming our business.
The regulations and contractual requirements applicable to us and other market participants are complex and subject to change, making it necessary for us to invest significant resources in complying with our regulatory and contractual requirements. Ongoing vigorous legal enforcement and the highly technical regulatory scheme mean that our compliance efforts in this area will continue to require significant resources, and we may not always be successful in ensuring appropriate compliance by our employees, consultants, or vendors, for whose compliance or lack thereof we may be held responsible and liable. Regulatory audits, investigations, and reviews could result in significant or material changes to our business practices, including increased capital requirements, and also could result in significant or material premium refunds, fines, penalties, civil liabilities, criminal liabilities, or other sanctions, including marketing and enrollment sanctions, suspension or exclusion from participation in government programs, imposition of heightened monitoring by our federal or state regulators, and suspension or loss of licensure if we are determined to be in violation of applicable laws or regulations. Any of these audits, reviews, or investigations could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or business, or could result in significant liabilities and negative publicity for the Company.
If we or our partners or other third parties with whom we collaborate fail to protect confidential information and/or sustain a data security incident, we could suffer increased costs, material financial penalties, exposure to significant liability, adverse regulatory consequences, and reputational harm, which would materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We rely on computer systems, hardware, software, technology infrastructure and online sites and networks for both internal and external operations that are critical to our business (collectively, “IT Systems”). We own and manage some of these IT Systems but also rely on third parties for a range of IT Systems and related products and services, including but not limited to cloud computing services. We and certain of our third-party providers collect, maintain and process data about customers, employees, business partners and others, including information about individuals—such as PHI, Social Security Numbers, addresses, mobile phone numbers, location information, payment card information, and bank account information—as well as proprietary information belonging to our business such as trade secrets (collectively, “Confidential Information”).
Risks relating to our IT Systems have generally increased in recent years because of the proliferation of new technologies—including artificial intelligence— and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyber-attacks, as well as a result of an increase in work-from-home and hybrid work arrangements and geopolitical events involving high cyber-risk countries. Hackers and data thieves are increasingly sophisticated and operating large-scale and complex automated attacks. Our IT Systems and Confidential Information are subject to a growing number of risks from hackers and other adversaries that threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our IT Systems and Confidential Information; threat actors may be able to penetrate our IT Systems and misappropriate our Confidential Information or that of third parties, create system disruptions, or cause damage, security issues, or shutdowns. These threats are from diverse threat actors, such as state-sponsored organizations, opportunistic hackers and hacktivists, and from diverse attack vectors, such as social engineering/phishing, malware (including ransomware), malfeasance by insiders, human or technological error, viruses, worms, and as a result of malicious code embedded in open-source software or other vulnerabilities in commercial software that is integrated into our (or our suppliers’ or service providers’) IT Systems, products or services. Because the techniques used to circumvent, gain access to, or sabotage IT Systems, can be highly sophisticated and change frequently, they often are not recognized until launched against a target, and may originate from less regulated and remote areas around the world. We may be unable to anticipate, detect, remediate, recover from future attacks or incidents, resulting in a material and adverse impact to our IT Systems, Confidential Information, or business. Further, we may experience cyber-attacks and other security incidents that remain undetected for an extended period. There can also be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our IT Systems and Confidential Information. As cyber threats continue to evolve, we may be required to expend additional resources to further enhance our information security measures, develop additional protocols and/or investigate and remediate any information security vulnerabilities.
Our IT Systems, Confidential Information and facilities are also subject to compromise from internal threats such as accidental or improper action by employees, including malicious insiders, or by vendors, counterparties, and other third parties with otherwise legitimate access to our systems. Our policies, employee training (including security and privacy awareness training), procedures, and technical safeguards may not prevent all improper access to our IT Systems or Confidential Information by employees, vendors, counterparties, or other third parties. Our IT Systems, Confidential Information and facilities are also vulnerable to security incidents or security attacks, ransomware attacks, malware, or other forms of cyber-attack, acts of vandalism or theft, misplaced or lost data, human errors, or other similar events that could negatively affect our IT Systems, and our Confidential Information. In the past, we have experienced, and third-party service providers who process information on our behalf have experienced, and disclosed to applicable regulatory authorities, data breaches resulting in disclosure of Confidential Information. Although none of these data breaches have resulted in any material financial loss or penalty to date, future data breaches could require us to expend significant resources to remediate any damage, interrupt our operations and damage our reputation, subject us to state or federal agency review and could also result in regulatory enforcement actions, material fines and penalties, litigation or other actions which could have a material adverse effect on our business, reputation and results of operations, financial position, and cash flows. Additionally, our third-party service providers who process information on our behalf may cause security breaches for which we are potentially liable.
Moreover, we face the ongoing challenge of managing access controls in a complex environment. The process of enhancing our protective measures can itself create a risk of systems disruptions and security issues. Given the breadth of our operations, including through our +Oscar technology platform, and the increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks, a particular incident could occur and persist for an extended period of time before being detected. The extent of a particular cyber-attack
and the steps that we may need to take to investigate the attack may take a significant amount of time and resources before such an investigation could be completed and full and reliable information about the incident is known. During such time, the extent of any harm or how best to remediate it might not be known, which could further increase the risks, costs, and consequences of a data security incident.
In addition, our IT Systems must be routinely updated, patched, and upgraded to protect against known vulnerabilities. The volume of new software vulnerabilities has increased substantially, as has the importance of patches and other remedial measures. In addition to remediating newly identified vulnerabilities, previously identified vulnerabilities must also be updated. We are at risk that cyber-attackers exploit these known vulnerabilities before they have been addressed. The complexity of our IT Systems, the increased frequency at which vendors are issuing security patches to their products, our need to test patches, and, in some instances, coordinate with third-parties before they can be deployed, all could further increase our risks. There can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information.
As part of our normal operations, we and our partners and other third parties with whom we collaborate routinely collect, process, store, and transmit large amounts of Confidential Information, including PHI subject to HIPAA and other federal and state laws and regulations, relating to our business and third parties, including our members, providers, and vendors. Any compromise or perceived compromise of the security of our IT Systems, Confidential Information or the systems of one or more of our vendors or service providers could cause significant incident response, system restoration or remediation and future compliance costs and it could materially damage our reputation and brand, cause the termination of relationships with our members, result in disruption or interruption to our business operations, marketing partners and carriers, reduce demand for our services, and subject us to significant liability and expense, as well as regulatory investigations and actions, fines and penalties, and lawsuits (such as class actions). Any or all of the foregoing could materially harm our business, operating results, and financial condition. The CCPA, in particular, includes a private right of action for California consumers whose CCPA-covered personal information is impacted by a data security incident resulting from a company’s failure to maintain reasonable security procedures and, hence, may result in civil litigation in the event of a data breach impacting such information. Although we maintain insurance covering certain security and privacy damages and claim expenses, we may not carry insurance or maintain coverage sufficient to compensate for all liability and, in any event, insurance coverage would not address the reputational damage that could result from a security incident or any regulatory actions or litigation that may result. We also cannot guarantee that applicable insurance will be available to us in the future on economically reasonable terms or at all.
Additionally, as we accept debit and credit cards for payment, we are subject to the PCI-DSS, issued by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. PCI-DSS contains compliance guidelines with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of cardholder data. If we or our service providers are unable to comply with the security standards established by banks and the payment card industry, we may be subject to fines, restrictions and expulsion from card acceptance programs, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
We rely on the experience and expertise of our Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founders, senior management team, highly-specialized technology and insurance experts, key technical employees, and other highly skilled personnel.
Our success depends upon the continued service of Mark T. Bertolini, our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors, Mario Schlosser, our Co-Founder, President of Technology and Chief Technology Officer and a member of our board of directors, and Joshua Kushner, our Co-Founder, Vice Chairman and a member of our board of directors, the other members of our senior management team, highly-specialized technology and insurance experts, and key technical employees, as well as other highly qualified personnel. We also depend upon our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate, retain, and integrate additional highly skilled personnel to support our growth. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, our business and prospects may be adversely affected.
Our Chief Executive Officer, each of our Co-Founders, other members of our senior management team, specialized technology and insurance experts, key technical personnel, and other employees could terminate their relationship with us at any time. The loss of key personnel might significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our strategic business objectives and could harm our business. In addition, much of our essential technology and infrastructure are custom-made for our business by our personnel. The loss of key technology personnel, including members of management, as well as our engineering and product development personnel, could disrupt our operations and harm our business. We also rely on a
number of highly-specialized insurance experts, the loss of any one of whom could also have a disproportionate impact on our business. We face significant competition for personnel across all areas of our business, and we may not be able to replace key personnel in a timely manner or at all.
Our compensation arrangements, such as our equity award programs, may not always be successful in attracting new employees and retaining, motivating and incentivizing our existing employees. Job candidates and existing employees often consider the value of the equity awards they receive in connection with their employment. Fluctuations in the price of our Class A common stock may make it more difficult or costly to use equity compensation to hire new employees and to retain, motivate, and incentivize existing employees. For example, from the completion of our IPO through December 31, 2024, our closing stock price ranged from a high of $36.77 to a low of $2.15. As such, the underlying value of the equity awards held by our employees also fluctuates. Additionally, if and when the stock options or other equity awards are substantially vested, employees under such equity arrangements may be more likely to leave, particularly when the underlying shares have appreciated.
To attract and retain top talent, we will need to continue to offer competitive compensation and benefits packages, including equity compensation. We may also need to increase our employee compensation levels in response to competitor actions. If we are unable to retain highly qualified personnel or hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs, or otherwise fail to effectively manage our hiring needs or successfully integrate new hires, including our recently hired management team members, our efficiency, ability to execute our growth strategy and our employee morale, productivity, and retention could suffer, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
If we are unable to integrate and manage our information systems effectively, our operations could be disrupted.
Our operations depend significantly on effective information systems. The information gathered and processed by our information systems assists us in, among other things, generating forecasts used for strategic decisions and pricing, monitoring utilization and other cost factors, processing provider claims, detecting fraud, and providing data to our regulators. Our healthcare providers also depend upon our information systems for membership verifications, claims status, and other information. We partner with third parties, including Amazon and Google, to support our information technology systems. Our information systems and applications require continual maintenance, upgrading, and enhancement to meet our current and expected operational needs and regulatory requirements. If we underestimate the need to expand or experience difficulties with the transition to or from information systems or do not appropriately plan, integrate, maintain, enhance, or expand our information systems, we could suffer, among other things, operational disruptions, loss of existing members and difficulty in attracting new members, regulatory enforcement, and increases in administrative expenses. In addition, if our providers, brokers and members do not utilize the technology we deploy to them, we may not be able to efficiently and cost-effectively operate our business. Our ability to integrate and manage our information systems may also be impaired as the result of events outside our control, including acts of nature, such as earthquakes or fires, or acts of terrorism. Also, we may from time to time obtain significant portions of our systems-related or other services or facilities from independent third parties, which may make our operations vulnerable if such third parties discontinue such services or fail to perform adequately.
Real or perceived errors, failures, vulnerabilities, or bugs in our systems, website, or app could impair our operations, damage our reputation and brand, and harm our business and operating results.
Our continued success is dependent on our systems, applications, and software continuing to operate and to meet the changing needs of our members and users. We rely on our technology and engineering staff and vendors to successfully implement changes to, and maintain, our systems and services in an efficient and secure manner. Like all information systems and technology, our website and online app may contain material errors, failures, vulnerabilities, or bugs, particularly when new features or capabilities are released, any of which could lead to interruptions, delays, or website or online app shutdowns, or could cause loss of critical data, or the unauthorized disclosure, access, acquisition, alteration or use of personal or other confidential information.
A significant impact on the performance, reliability, security, and availability of our systems, software, or services may harm our reputation and brand, impair our ability to operate, retain existing members, or attract new members, and expose us to legal claims and regulatory action, each of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects.
We are subject to risks associated with public health crises arising from large-scale medical emergencies, pandemics, natural disasters and other extreme events, which have had, and could in the future have, an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and financial performance.
Large-scale medical emergencies, pandemics and other extreme events could result in public health crises or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business operations, cash flows, financial conditions and results of operations. For example, disruptions in public and private infrastructure resulting from such events could increase our operating costs and ability to provide services to our members. Additionally, as a result of these events, the premiums and fees we charge may not be sufficient to cover our medical and administrative costs, deferred medical care could be sought in future periods at potentially higher acuity levels, we could experience reduced demand for our services, and our workforce could be impacted, resulting in reduced capacity to handle demand for care.
Public health crises arising from natural disasters (such as earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, floods and snowstorms) or effects of climate change could impact our business operations and result in increased medical care costs. For example, natural disasters, such as a major hurricane affecting Florida, Georgia, or Texas, could have a significant impact on the health of a large number of our covered members. Other conditions that could impact our members include a virulent flu season or epidemic, newly emergent mosquito-borne illnesses, such as the Zika virus, the West Nile virus, or the Chikungunya virus, or new viruses or conditions for which vaccines may not exist, are not effective, or have not been widely administered.
In addition, federal and state law enforcement officials have issued warnings about potential terrorist activity involving biological or other weapons of mass destruction. All of these conditions, and others, could have a significant impact on the health of the population of widespread areas. If one of the states in which we operate were to experience a large-scale natural disaster, a significant terrorist attack, or some other large-scale event affecting the health of a large number of our members, our covered medical expenses in that state would rise, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, cash flows, or results of operations. Government enaction of emergency powers in response to these public health crises could also disrupt our business operations, including by restricting pharmaceuticals or other supplies, and could increase the risk of shortages of necessary items or labor.
Even after a public health crisis has subsided, we may experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of its global economic impact. While the potential economic impact and the duration of any public health crisis may be difficult to assess or predict, such impact may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We may not be able to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”), to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes, which could adversely affect our cash flows.
As of December 31, 2024, we had federal income tax NOLs of $2.2 billion and state NOLs of $1.3 billion, which are currently subject to a full valuation allowance. The NOLs are available to offset our future taxable income, if any, prior to consideration of annual limitations that may be imposed under Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) or otherwise. Of our federal NOLs, approximately $1.2 billion of losses will expire between 2035 and 2043, and $907.8 million of losses can be carried forward indefinitely. State NOLs begin to expire in 2036.
We may be unable to use our NOLs, as we do not have a history of positive earnings. In addition, under Section 382 of the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50% change, by value, in the corporation’s equity ownership by certain shareholders or groups of shareholders over a rolling three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-ownership change NOLs to offset its post-ownership change income may be limited. We regularly assess potential NOL limitations under Section 382, and determined that an ownership change occurred in 2016; however, the corresponding limitation amount did not impact the ultimate pre-change NOL available for use. We may experience ownership changes as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership, which may be outside of our control. Another ownership change could limit, our ability to utilize our NOLs existing at the time of the ownership change. Future regulatory changes could also limit our ability to utilize our NOLs. To the extent we are not able to offset future taxable income with our NOLs, our cash flows may be adversely affected.
Our limited operating history in an evolving industry makes it difficult to evaluate our current business performance, implementation of our business model, and our future prospects.
We launched our business in 2012 and have a limited experience operating our business at current scale. Due to this limited operating history and the rapid growth we have experienced since we began operations, there is greater uncertainty in estimating our operating results, and our historical results may not be indicative of, or comparable to, our future results. In addition, we have limited data to validate key aspects of our business model, including our growth strategy. For example, our efforts to partner with ICHRA platforms to transition small, mid- and large-sized employers to the individual market where their employees can choose an Oscar product may not be successful, take significantly more time than expected to be successful and/or incur significant or unexpected expense. Furthermore, we are a relatively new entrant in the third party services market and in the past have experienced challenges in developing this area of our business. We are unable to predict if we will always be able to effectively and consistently service our current +Oscar arrangements and any future +Oscar arrangements, which risk may increase over time as we enter into more material +Oscar arrangements. We cannot provide any assurance that the data we collect will provide useful measures for evaluating our business model. Moreover, we cannot provide any assurance that partnerships, joint ventures or business lines we enter into in the future will perform as well as historical expectations. Our inability to adequately assess our performance and growth could have a material adverse effect on our brand, reputation, business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If we experience material weaknesses or significant control deficiencies in the future, or otherwise fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations and accurately and timely report our financial results, and our access to the capital markets, could be adversely affected.
We are a public reporting company subject to the rules and regulations established by the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). These rules and regulations require, among other things, that we establish and periodically evaluate procedures with respect to our internal control over financial reporting.
In addition, as a public company, we are required to document and test our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act so that our management can certify as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404(a), requires that management assess and report annually on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, and our independent registered public accounting firm issue an annual report that addresses the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Designing and maintaining adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures that enable us to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort.
As initially disclosed in Part II, Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures,” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, in connection with our audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to information technology general controls.
Although such material weakness was remediated in 2023, we can give no assurance that additional material weaknesses will not be identified in the future. If we cannot remediate future material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in a timely manner, or if we identify additional control deficiencies that individually or together constitute significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, our ability to accurately record, process, and report financial information and our ability to prepare financial statements within required time periods, could be adversely affected.
Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to an increased risk of financial reporting fraud and misappropriation of assets and subject us to potential delisting from the NYSE or to other regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions.
Significant delays in our receipt of direct policy premiums, including as a result of regulatory restrictions on policy cancellations and non-renewals, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, cash flows, or earnings.
We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from direct policy premiums and recognize premium revenue over the period that coverage is effective. There can be no assurance that we will receive premiums in advance of or by the end of a given coverage period. Moreover, actions taken by state and federal governments could increase the likelihood of delay in
our receipt of premiums. For example, in early responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, state insurance departments, including in states in which we operate, issued guidelines, recommendations, and moratoria around policy cancellations and non-renewals due to non-payment. While none of such state or federal required or recommended moratoria are still in effect, if similar measures were to be reintroduced and to remain in place for an extended period due to unanticipated public health or economic crises, our receipt of premiums, if any, could be significantly delayed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, cash flows, or earnings.
Payments from government payors may be delayed in the future, which, if extended for any significant period of time, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, cash flows or liquidity. In addition, delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain or maintain, governmental approvals, or moratoria imposed by regulatory authorities, could adversely affect our revenues or membership, increase costs or adversely affect our ability to bring new products to market as forecasted. Other changes to our government programs could affect our willingness or ability to participate in any of these programs or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, cash flows, or earnings.
We make virtual healthcare services available to our members through Oscar Medical Group, in which we do not own any equity or voting interest, and our virtual care availability may be disrupted if our arrangements with providers like the Oscar Medical Group become subject to legal challenges.
Pursuant to state corporate practice of medicine laws, many states in which we operate through our subsidiaries limit the practice of medicine to licensed individuals or professional organizations owned by licensed individuals, and business corporations generally may not exercise control over the medical decisions of physicians. Statutes and regulations, including the interpretation and enforcement of such statutes and regulations, relating to the corporate practice of medicine, fee-splitting between physicians and referral sources, and similar issues, vary widely from state to state. Many of the laws, rules, and regulations with respect to corporate practice of medicine are ambiguous and have not been well-interpreted by applicable regulatory agencies or the courts. Moreover, changes can be made to existing laws, regulations, or interpretations, or new laws can be enacted or adopted, which could cause us to be out of compliance with these requirements.
Our wholly owned subsidiary, Oscar Management Corporation, has management services agreements with four physician-owned professional corporations, known collectively as the Oscar Medical Group. We consolidate the professional corporations into our financial results because under applicable rules we have determined that we have a controlling financial interest in these corporations. However, each of the professional corporations comprising the Oscar Medical Group is wholly owned by a single physician licensed in California, Florida, New York and New Jersey, who oversees the operation of the Oscar Medical Group in her capacity as president and sole director of each Oscar Medical Group professional corporation. This physician also serves as an employee of Oscar Management Corporation. Under the terms of the management services agreements between Oscar Management Corporation and the Oscar Medical Group, the Oscar Medical Group retains sole responsibility for all medical decisions, as well as for hiring and managing physicians and other licensed healthcare providers, developing operating policies and procedures, and implementing professional standards and controls. Despite the management services agreements and other arrangements we have with Oscar Medical Group, regulatory authorities and other parties may assert that we are engaged in the prohibited corporate practice of medicine, that our arrangements with Oscar Medical Group constitute unlawful fee-splitting, or that other similar issues exist. If that were to occur, we could be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, our agreements could be found legally invalid and unenforceable (in whole or in part), or we could be required to terminate or restructure our contractual arrangements, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial position, or cash flows. State corporate practice of medicine and fee-splitting prohibitions may impose penalties on healthcare professionals for aiding in the improper rendering of professional services.
Our health insurance subsidiaries have entered into provider participation agreements with the Oscar Medical Group that enable the Oscar Medical Group to participate in Oscar’s provider network. While we expect that our relationship with the Oscar Medical Group will continue, a material change in our relationship with the Oscar Medical Group, whether resulting from a dispute among the entities or the loss of these relationships or contracts with the Oscar Medical Group, may temporarily disrupt our ability to provide virtual healthcare services to our members and could harm our business.
Failure to secure, protect, or enforce our intellectual property rights could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Our commercial success is dependent in part on protecting our core technologies, intellectual property, and proprietary rights (such as source code, information, data, processes, and other forms of information, know-how, and technology). We primarily rely on copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual arrangements to establish and protect our intellectual property. However, there are steps that we have not yet taken to protect our intellectual property. For example, we do not have any patents, which limits our ability to deter patent infringement claims by competitors and other third parties who may hold or obtain patents.
While we take precautions designed to protect our intellectual property, it may still be possible for competitors and other unauthorized third parties to copy our technology and use our proprietary brand, content, and information to create or enhance competing solutions and products, which could adversely affect our competitive position in our rapidly evolving and highly competitive industry. Some license provisions that protect against unauthorized use, copying, decompiling, transfer, and disclosure of our technology may be unenforceable under the laws of certain jurisdictions and foreign countries, and the remedies for such events may not be sufficient to compensate for such breaches. We enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and consultants, and enter into confidentiality agreements with our third-party providers and strategic partners. We cannot assure you that these agreements will not be breached, and that they will be effective in controlling access to, and use and distribution of, our platform and proprietary information. Further, these agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our offerings. Such arrangements may limit our ability to protect, maintain, enforce, or commercialize such intellectual property rights or the technology or services that are based upon or covered by such intellectual property rights. Additionally, certain unauthorized use of our intellectual property may go undetected, or we may face legal or practical barriers to enforcing our legal rights even where unauthorized use is detected. If we are unable to prevent the unauthorized use or exploitation of our intellectual property, the value of our brand, content, and other intangible assets may be diminished, competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our service and methods of operations, the perception of our business and service to members, and potential members, may become confused, and our ability to attract customers may be adversely affected. Any inability or failure to protect our intellectual property could adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
We have registered our trademark, but to date we have not filed applications to protect our innovations and intellectual property. If in the future we decide to file applications to protect our innovations and intellectual property, we do not know whether they would result in the issuance of a patent, or effective copyrights, in our content and proprietary coding, as applicable, or whether the examination process will require us to narrow any proposed patent claims. In addition, we may not receive competitive advantages from the rights granted under our intellectual property. Our existing intellectual property, and any intellectual property granted to us, or that we otherwise acquire in the future, may be contested, circumvented, or invalidated. Therefore, the exact effect of the protection of this intellectual property cannot be predicted with certainty. In addition, given the costs, effort, and risks of obtaining patent protection, including the requirement to ultimately disclose the invention to the public, we continue not to choose to seek patent protection. Any failure to adequately obtain patent protection, or other intellectual property protection, could later prove to adversely impact our business.
We currently hold various domain names relating to our brand, including HiOscar.com. We also engage a third-party vendor to monitor for fictitious sites that may purport to be us. Failure to protect our domain names could adversely affect our reputation and brand, and make it more difficult for users to find our website and our online app. We may be unable, without significant cost or at all, to prevent third parties from diverting traffic from our domain names or acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon, or otherwise decrease the value of our trademarks and other proprietary rights.
We may be required to spend significant resources in order to monitor, protect, and defend our intellectual property rights. Litigation to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management, and could result in the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property. Our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights may be met with defenses, counterclaims, and countersuits attacking the validity and enforceability of our intellectual property rights. Our inability to protect our proprietary technology against unauthorized copying or use, as well as any costly litigation or diversion of our management’s attention and resources, could impair the functionality of our platform, delay introductions of enhancements to our platform, result in our substituting inferior or more costly technologies into our platform, or harm our reputation or brand.
We may be subject to claims by others that we are infringing on their intellectual property rights.
Our competitors, as well as a number of other entities and individuals, including so-called non-practicing entities, may own or claim to own intellectual property relating to or covering the operation of our business. From time to time, third parties claim that we are infringing upon their intellectual property rights or that we have misappropriated their intellectual property. We may be unaware of the intellectual property rights that others may claim cover some or all of our technology or services. Because patent applications can take years to issue and are often afforded confidentiality for some period of time there may currently be pending applications, unknown to us, that later result in issued patents that could cover one or more aspects of our technology and business. Third parties may assert claims that we or our business partners or clients infringe or misappropriate their intellectual property rights and these claims, with or without merit, could be expensive to litigate, cause us to incur substantial costs and divert management resources and attention in defending the claim. In addition, we may be required to license additional technology from third parties to develop and market new offerings or platform features, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, and could adversely affect our ability to compete or require us to rebrand or otherwise modify our offerings, which could further exhaust our resources. Furthermore, certain contracts with our business partners contain provisions whereby we indemnify, subject to certain limitations, the counterparty for damages suffered as a result of claims related to intellectual property infringement. Claims made under these provisions could be expensive to litigate and could result in significant payments. Even if we were to prevail in such a dispute, any litigation regarding our intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations.
We may face risks associated with our utilization of certain artificial intelligence and machine learning models.
Our business currently utilizes AI Technologies to drive efficiencies in our business, including by deploying use cases that are designed to streamline administrative processes, improve the experience for our members and providers and enhance our decision making capabilities. We are making, and plan to make in the future, investments in adopting AI Technologies across our business and across our technology stack. As with many technological innovations, there are significant risks involved in developing, maintaining and deploying AI Technologies and there can be no assurance that our usage of, or investments in, AI Technologies will always enhance our products or services or be beneficial to our business, including our efficiency or profitability.
If the AI Technologies we use are incorrectly designed, if the data sets or models upon which they are based have errors or if we fail to develop and maintain adequate safeguards, the performance of our products, services, and business, as well as our reputation, could suffer or we could incur liability through the violation of laws, or contracts to which we are a party. In addition, the regulatory framework for AI Technologies is rapidly evolving and we cannot yet determine the impact future laws, regulations, standards, or market perception of their requirements may have on our business and may not always be able to anticipate how to respond to these laws or regulations. New regulations and changes to existing regulations, and their interpretation and implementation, could impede our use of AI Technologies by limiting the way we use, or requiring us to change the way we use, AI Technologies and/or creating additional costs associated with compliance.
Our ability to continue to leverage AI Technologies is dependent on access to specific third-party software and infrastructure provided by a handful of vendors with the leading AI Technologies. We cannot control the availability or pricing of third-party software and infrastructure, and if the models we currently use in connection with AI Technologies become incompatible with our applications or unavailable for use, or if the providers of such models unfavorably changes the terms on which their AI Technologies are offered or terminates their relationship with us, we could be required to expend time and resources to either find a replacement vendor and/or to mitigate the impact to our business, and our business could be harmed.
Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations with respect to sustainability and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters may impose additional costs on us, impact our access to capital, or expose us to new or additional risks.
Increased focus, including from regulators, investors, employees, clients, competitors and other stakeholders on sustainability or ESG matters may result in increased costs (including but not limited to increased costs related to compliance and stakeholder engagement), impact our reputation, or otherwise affect our business performance. Negative public perception, adverse publicity or negative comments in social media could damage our reputation or harm our relationships with regulators, employees, customers, investors or other stakeholders if we do not, or are not perceived to, adequately address these issues, including if we fail to demonstrate progress towards any current or future ESG goals. Any harm to our
reputation could negatively impact employee engagement and retention, customers’ willingness to do business with us, and investment decisions. At the same time, various stakeholders may have divergent views on ESG practices and the speed of their adoption. This divergence increases the risk that any commitment, position, target or other action or lack thereof with respect to ESG matters will be perceived negatively by at least some stakeholders and adversely impact our reputation and business.
It is possible that stakeholders may not be satisfied with our ESG practices or the speed of their adoption. At the same time, certain stakeholders might not be satisfied if we adopt ESG practices at all. Actual or perceived shortcomings with respect to our ESG practices and reporting could negatively impact our business. We could also incur additional costs and require additional resources to monitor, report, and comply with various ESG practices and current or emerging regulatory requirements, including with respect to climate change and sustainability. For example, we operate in various jurisdictions in the U.S. that have adopted or proposed federal and state laws related to sustainability and climate change reporting to which we could eventually become subject. We are currently assessing the potential impacts of the adopted or proposed laws, as well as other sustainability and climate-related disclosure obligations and evolving legal and regulatory requirements, to which we may be subject. Further, enhanced sustainability and climate-related disclosure requirements could lead to reputational or other harm to our relationships with regulators, employees, customers, investors or other stakeholders.
In addition, a variety of organizations have developed ratings to measure the performance of companies on ESG topics, and the results of some of these assessments are widely publicized. Such ratings are used by some investors to inform their investment and voting decisions. In addition, many investors have created their own proprietary ratings that inform their investment and voting decisions. Unfavorable ratings of the Company or our industry, as well as omission of inclusion of our stock into ESG-oriented investment funds, may lead to negative investor sentiment and the diversion of investment to other companies or industries, which could have a negative impact on our stock price and our access to and cost of capital.
Risks Related to our Indebtedness
Restrictions imposed by our Revolving Credit Facility may materially limit our ability to operate our business and finance our future operations or capital needs.
The terms of our senior secured credit agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent, and certain other lenders for the Revolving Credit Facility in the aggregate principal amount of $115 million, may restrict us and our subsidiaries from engaging in specified types of transactions. These covenants, subject to certain limitations and exceptions, restrict our ability, and that of our subsidiaries, to, among other things:
•incur indebtedness;
•incur certain liens;
•enter into sale and lease-back transactions;
•make investments, loans, advances, guarantees and acquisitions;
•consolidate, merge or sell or otherwise dispose of assets;
•pay dividends or make other distributions on equity interests, or redeem, repurchase or retire equity interests;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•alter the business conducted by us and our subsidiaries; and
•change our or their fiscal year.
A breach of any of these covenants, or any other covenant in the documents governing our Revolving Credit Facility, could result in a default or event of default under our Revolving Credit Facility. In the event of any event of default under our Revolving Credit Facility, the applicable lenders or agents could elect to terminate borrowing commitments and declare all borrowings and loans outstanding thereunder, if any, together with accrued and unpaid interest and any fees and other obligations, to be immediately due and payable. In addition, or in the alternative, the applicable lenders or agents could exercise their rights under the security documents entered into in connection with our Revolving Credit Facility. We pledged substantially all of our assets as collateral securing our Revolving Credit Facility and any such exercise of remedies on any material portion of such collateral would likely materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
If we were unable to repay or otherwise refinance these borrowings and loans when due, and the applicable lenders proceeded to exercise remedies against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness, we may be forced into
bankruptcy or liquidation. In the event the applicable lenders accelerate the repayment of any future borrowings, we may not have sufficient assets to repay that indebtedness. Any acceleration of future borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility or other outstanding indebtedness would also likely have a material adverse effect on us.
Pursuant to our Revolving Credit Facility, we are required to comply with certain financial covenants including (i) receiving specified levels of direct policy premiums (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility) for each fiscal quarter, (ii) maintaining a minimum liquidity (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility) of $50 million less than the aggregate commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility as of the last day of each quarter, or, if the Revolving Credit Facility is drawn by more than 60%, as of the last day of any fiscal month, (iii) not exceeding a maximum medical loss ratio (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility) as of the last day of each quarter, and (iv) maintaining a minimum consolidated adjusted EBITDA (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility) as of the last day of each quarter. Our ability to borrow under our Revolving Credit Facility depends on our compliance with these financial covenants. Events beyond our control, including changes in general economic and business conditions, may affect our ability to satisfy the financial covenants. We cannot assure you that we will satisfy the financial covenants in the future, or that our lenders will waive any failure to satisfy the financial covenants.
Our debt obligations contain restrictions that impact our business and expose us to risks that could materially adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition.
As of December 31, 2024, we had outstanding indebtedness due to our issuance in February 2022 of $305.0 million in aggregate principal amount of our 2031 Notes in a private placement. We may incur additional indebtedness in the future, including borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility. Such indebtedness, including borrowings, if any, under the Revolving Credit Facility, could have significant effects on our business, such as:
•limiting our ability to borrow additional amounts to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our growth strategy and other purposes;
•limiting our ability to make investments, including acquisitions, loans and advances, and to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of assets;
•requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay principal and interest on our borrowings, which would reduce availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, execution of our growth strategy and other general corporate purposes;
•making us more vulnerable to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions, in government regulation and in our business by limiting our ability to plan for and react to changing conditions;
•placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared with our competitors that have less debt; and
•exposing us to risks inherent in interest rate fluctuations because our borrowings are at variable rates of interest, which could result in higher interest expense in the event of increases in interest rates.
Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance our indebtedness, including the 2031 Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. If the assumptions underlying our cash flow projections are incorrect we may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow from our operations to repay our existing or future indebtedness when it becomes due and to meet our other cash needs. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we will be required to pursue one or more alternative strategies, such as selling assets, refinancing or restructuring our indebtedness or selling additional debt or equity securities. In addition to the restrictions imposed by our Revolving Credit Facility, the Investment Agreement that we entered into in connection with our issuance of the 2031 Notes contains covenants, which, subject to certain conditions, limitations and exceptions, restrict our ability to refinance our indebtedness and incur additional indebtedness. If we fail to comply with these covenants or to make payments under our indebtedness when due, then we would be in default under that indebtedness, which could, in turn, result in our other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full. Due to such restrictions or other factors, we may not be able to refinance our debt or sell additional debt or equity securities or our assets on favorable terms, if at all, and if we must sell our assets, it may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may be subject to prepayment penalties depending on when we repay our future indebtedness, which amounts could be material.
We may be unable to raise the funds necessary to repurchase our outstanding 2031 Notes for cash following a fundamental change or on the optional repurchase dates, or to pay any cash amounts due upon conversion, and our other indebtedness may limit our ability to repurchase the 2031 Notes or pay cash upon their conversion.
Noteholders may, subject to certain conditions described in the Indenture governing the 2031 Notes, require us to repurchase their 2031 Notes following a fundamental change at a cash repurchase price generally equal to the principal amount of the 2031 Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. Additionally, pursuant to the Investment Agreement, after the fifth anniversary of the Closing Date of the 2031 Notes, the initial purchasers of the 2031 Notes have the right to require us to repurchase all of their 2031 Notes for cash, on each of June 30, 2027, June 30, 2028, June 30, 2029 and June 30, 2030 (each, a “Repurchase Date”); provided that, among other conditions, a repurchase notice is delivered to the trustee under the Indenture no later than the later of (i) 120 days prior to the applicable Repurchase Date and (ii) 10 business days following the date on which we file our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the prior year. Furthermore, upon conversion, we will satisfy part or all of our conversion obligation in cash unless we, or the Initial Purchasers of the 2031 Notes, elect to settle conversions solely in shares of our Class A common stock. We may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to repurchase the 2031 Notes or pay any cash amounts due upon conversion. In addition, applicable law, regulatory authorities and the agreements governing our other indebtedness may restrict our ability to repurchase the 2031 Notes or pay any cash amounts due upon conversion. Our failure to repurchase the 2031 Notes or pay any cash amounts due upon conversion when required will constitute a default under the Indenture. A default under the Indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our other indebtedness, which may result in that other indebtedness becoming immediately payable in full. We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy all amounts due under the other indebtedness and the 2031 Notes.
Provisions in the Revolving Credit Facility or the Indenture governing the 2031 Notes could delay or prevent an otherwise beneficial takeover of us.
Certain provisions in the Revolving Credit Facility, the 2031 Notes and the Indenture could make a third-party attempt to acquire us more difficult or expensive. For example, if a takeover constitutes a fundamental change (as defined in the Indenture governing the 2031 Notes), then noteholders will have the right to require us to repurchase their 2031 Notes for cash. In addition, if a takeover constitutes a make-whole fundamental change (as defined in the Indenture governing the 2031 Notes), then we may be required to temporarily increase the conversion rate. Further, if a takeover constitutes a change in control (as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility), such takeover would constitute an event of default under the Revolving Credit Facility. In any such case, and in other cases, our obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility, the 2031 Notes and the Indenture could increase the cost of acquiring us or otherwise discourage a third party from acquiring us or removing incumbent management, including in a transaction that noteholders or holders of our common stock may view as favorable.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A Common Stock
The dual class structure of our common stock will have the effect of concentrating voting control with Thrive Capital and our Co-Founders for the foreseeable future, which will limit the ability of our other investors to influence corporate matters, including the election of directors and the approval of any change of control transaction.
Our Class B common stock has 20 votes per share, and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. As of December 31, 2024, the holders of our outstanding Class B common stock, which consist of Thrive Capital and our Co-Founders, beneficially own 19.7% of our outstanding capital stock and hold 79.9% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock (assuming the exercise of all options to acquire shares of Class B common stock and the conversion of the 2031 Notes, in each case that are beneficially owned as of December 31, 2024). Thrive Capital and Joshua Kushner (as the sole managing member of the Thrive General Partners), in particular, beneficially own 17.0% of our outstanding capital stock and hold 71.8% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock as of December 31, 2024. Because of the 20-to-one voting ratio between our Class B common stock and Class A common stock, the holders of Class B common stock, in particular Thrive Capital and Joshua Kushner (as the sole managing member of the Thrive General Partners), collectively control over a majority of the combined voting power of all of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock and therefore will continue to be able to control all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval until a significant portion of such shares of outstanding Class B common stock have been converted to shares of Class A common stock. This concentrated control limits or precludes the ability of our other investors to influence corporate matters for the foreseeable future. For example, Thrive Capital and our Co-Founders have sufficient voting power to determine the outcome with respect to elections of directors, amendments to our certificate of incorporation, amendments to our bylaws that are subject to a stockholder vote, increases to the number of shares available for issuance under our equity incentive plans or adoption of new equity incentive plans, and approval of any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transaction requiring stockholder approval for the foreseeable future. In addition, this concentrated control may also prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our capital stock that our other stockholders may feel is in their best interest. This control may also adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Because Thrive Capital and our Co-Founders’ interests may differ from those of our other stockholders, actions that Thrive Capital and our Co-Founders take with respect to us, as significant stockholders, may not be favorable to our other stockholders, including holders of our Class A common stock.
Thrive Capital and its affiliates engage in a broad spectrum of activities. In the ordinary course of its business activities, Thrive Capital and its affiliates may engage in activities where their interests conflict with our interests or those of our other stockholders. Thrive Capital or one of its affiliates may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. In addition, Thrive Capital may have an interest in us pursuing acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions that, in its judgment, could enhance its investment in us, even though such transactions might involve risks to you.
Future transfers by holders of Class B common stock will generally result in those shares converting to Class A common stock, subject to limited exceptions. As among the individual holders of Class B common stock, the conversion of Class B common stock to Class A common stock will have the effect, over time, of increasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who retain their shares in the long term (and decreasing the relative voting power of those holders of Class B common stock who transfer their shares).
We cannot predict the effect our dual class structure may have on the market price of our Class A common stock.
We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock, in adverse publicity, or in other adverse consequences. Certain index providers have implemented, and may in the future determine to implement, restrictions on including companies with multiple share class structures in certain of their indices. For example, from July 2017 to April 2023, S&P Dow Jones excluded companies with multiple share classes from the S&P Composite 1500. If we are ineligible for inclusion in certain indices on account of our dual class structure, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track those indices may not invest in our Class A common stock. These policies are relatively new and it is unclear what effect, if any, they will have on the valuations of publicly-traded companies excluded from such indices, but it is possible that they may depress valuations, as compared to similar companies that are included. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indices, exclusion from certain stock indices would likely preclude investment by many of these funds
and could make our Class A common stock less attractive to other investors. As a result, the market price of our Class A common stock could be adversely affected.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of NYSE and, as a result, we may rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements and, if we chose to do so, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are not exempt from such requirements.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the NYSE. Under these rules, a listed company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including:
•the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consist of independent directors;
•the requirement that our nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;
•the requirement that our compensation committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
•the requirement for an annual performance evaluation of our nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees.
We currently are not relying on any of the NYSE controlled company exemptions. However, as long as we remain a “controlled company,” we may elect in the future to take advantage of any of these exemptions and if we choose to do so you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our Class A common stock for the foreseeable future.
We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our Class A common stock in the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on, among other things, our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, industry trends, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Any such decision also will be subject to compliance with contractual restrictions and covenants in the agreements governing our current indebtedness. In addition, our ability to pay dividends in the future depends on the earnings and distributions of funds from our health insurance subsidiaries. Applicable state insurance laws restrict the ability of such health insurance subsidiaries to declare stockholder dividends and require our health insurance subsidiaries to maintain specified levels of statutory capital and surplus. The Revolving Credit Facility contains restrictions on our ability to pay dividends. Moreover, we may incur additional indebtedness, the terms of which may further restrict or prevent us from paying dividends on our Class A common stock. As a result, you may have to sell some or all of your Class A common stock after price appreciation in order to generate cash flow from your investment, which you may not be able to do. Our inability or decision not to pay dividends could also adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
We may issue shares of preferred stock in the future, which could make it difficult for another company to acquire us or could otherwise adversely affect holders of our Class A common stock, which could depress the price of our Class A common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Amended Charter”) authorizes us to issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our board of directors will have the authority to determine the powers, designations, preferences, and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations, or restrictions thereof, of the shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend, and other rights superior to the rights of our Class A common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discouraging bids for our Class A common stock at a premium to the market price, and may materially and adversely affect the market price and the voting and other rights of the holders of our Class A common stock.
Future sales and issuances of our Class A common stock or rights to purchase our Class A common stock, including pursuant to our equity incentive plans, or other equity securities or securities convertible into our Class A common stock, could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause the stock price of our Class A common stock to decline.
We have filed registration statements with the SEC on Form S-8 to register shares of our Class A common stock issued or reserved for issuance under our 2012 Stock Plan, 2021 Incentive Award Plan, 2022 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan, and Employee Stock Purchase Plan and expect to file additional registration statements on Form S-8 in the future. Subject to the satisfaction of vesting conditions, shares issued pursuant to or registered under the registration statement on Form S-8 will be available for resale immediately in the public market without restriction. In addition, upon conversion of the 2031 Notes, we may elect to settle conversions entirely in shares of our Class A common stock. Moreover, pursuant to the terms of the Investment Agreement governing the 2031 Notes, the Initial Purchasers of the 2031 Notes have the right to require us to settle conversions entirely in shares of our Class A common stock. From time to time in the future, we may also issue additional shares of our Class A common stock, Class B common stock or securities convertible into Class A common stock pursuant to a variety of transactions, including acquisitions. The issuance by us of additional shares of our Class A common stock or securities convertible into our Class A common stock would dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders.
In addition, the sale of substantial amounts of shares of our Class A common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our Class A common stock. All of the shares of Class A common stock sold in our IPO are freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except that any shares held by our affiliates, as that term is defined under Rule 144 of the Securities Act, may be sold only in compliance with certain limitations. The market price of our shares of Class A common stock could drop significantly if the holders of such restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to raise additional funds through future offerings of our shares of Class A common stock or other securities.
Anti-takeover provisions in our governing documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of the Company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management, and depress the market price of our Class A common stock.
Our Amended Charter, our amended and restated bylaws (the “Amended Bylaws”), and Delaware law contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Among others, our Amended Charter and Amended Bylaws include the following provisions:
•a dual class structure that provides our holders of Class B common stock with the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval;
•limitations on convening special stockholder meetings, which could make it difficult for our stockholders to adopt desired governance changes;
•advance notice procedures, which apply for stockholders to nominate candidates for election as directors or to bring matters before an annual meeting of stockholders;
•a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, which means that our stockholders will only be able to take action at a meeting of stockholders;
•a forum selection clause, which means certain litigation can only be brought in Delaware;
•no authorization of cumulative voting, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
•certain amendments to our certificate of incorporation will require the approval of two-thirds of the then outstanding voting power of our capital stock, voting as a single class;
•amendments to our bylaws by our stockholders will require the approval of two-thirds of the then outstanding voting power of our capital stock, voting as a single class;
•the authorization of undesignated or “blank check” preferred stock, the terms of which may be established and shares of which may be issued without further action by our stockholders and which may be used to create a “poison pill”;
•newly created directorships are filled by a majority of directors then in office; and
•the approval of two-thirds of the then outstanding voting power of our capital stock, voting as a single class, is required to remove a director.
These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management. As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), which prevents interested stockholders, such as certain stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations for a period of 3 years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless (i) prior to the time such stockholder became an interested stockholder, the board approved the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, (ii) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned 85% of the voting stock of the Company outstanding at the time the transaction commenced (excluding certain shares) or (iii) following board approval, the business combination receives the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding common stock not owned by such interested stockholder.
The insurance laws in most states require regulatory review and approval of a change in control of our domestic insurers. “Control” generally means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct, or cause the direction of, the management and policies of an insurer, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. The state statutes usually presume that control exists if a person or company, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, or holds the power to vote ten percent (10%) or more of the voting securities of an insurer or a parent company, but some states may presume control at a lower percentage. This presumption can then be rebutted by showing that control does not exist. Accordingly, a change in control could trigger regulatory review and approval in one or more states in which we operate.
Any provision of our Amended Charter, Amended Bylaws, Delaware law, or applicable state insurance law that has the effect of delaying, preventing, or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our Class A common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our Class A common stock.
Our Amended Charter provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, and federal district courts are the sole and exclusive forum for Securities Act claims, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our Amended Charter provides that, unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for: (a) any derivative action, suit, or proceeding brought on our behalf; (b) any action, suit, or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees or stockholders to us or to our stockholders, creditors, or other constituents; (c) any action, suit, or proceeding asserting a claim arising pursuant to the DGCL, our Amended Charter or Amended Bylaws, or as to which the DGCL confers exclusive jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or (d) any action, suit, or proceeding asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that the exclusive forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, or to any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Our Amended Charter further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts are the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. The choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our current or former directors, officers, or other employees or stockholders, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our current or former directors, officers, and other employees or stockholders. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provisions contained in our Amended Charter to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
General Risk Factors
The obligations associated with being a public company require significant resources and management attention.
As a public company, we face increased legal, accounting, administrative, and other costs and expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant costs related to operating as a public company. We are subject to the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations implemented by the SEC, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”), and the rules and standards of the NYSE, each of which imposes additional reporting and other obligations on public companies.
These rules and regulations and changes in laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, which have created uncertainty for public companies, will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time consuming and costly. These laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. Our investment in compliance with existing and evolving regulatory requirements has and will continue to result in increased administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
If our operating and financial performance in any given period does not meet the guidance that we provide to the public, the market price of our Class A common stock may decline.
We have historically provided public guidance on our expected operating and financial results for future periods, and may continue to do so in the future. Such guidance consists of forward-looking statements subject to the risks and uncertainties described in this report, and in our other public filings and public statements. Our actual results may not always be in line with or exceed any guidance we have provided, especially in times of economic uncertainty. If, in the future, our operating or financial results for a particular period do not meet any guidance we provide or the expectations of investment analysts, or if we reduce our guidance for future periods, the market price of our Class A common stock may decline. Even if we do issue public guidance, there can be no assurance that we will continue to do so in the future.