Oscar Health, Inc.
For the period ended Sep 30, 2025. Filed Nov 6, 2025.
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Sep 30, 2025 · Filed Nov 6, 2025
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Except as set forth in the amended and restated risk factors below, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Part I, Item 1A, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.
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 advanced premium tax credits “APTCs” under the American Rescue Plan Act “ARPA” are not renewed after 2025, or are otherwise eliminated or reduced, or other APTCs or subsidies under the ACA are eliminated or reduced;
the enhanced APTCs are renewed, in whole or in part, late in 2025;
regulatory or legislative actions to improve the integrity in the ACA eligibility and enrollment process, such as the CMS Program Integrity Rules and the OBBA, impact membership, including as a result of periodic data matching operations and rules that make it more difficult for members to enroll in new plans, switch from one plan to another, or obtain APTCs;
we increase pricing as a result of changes or developments in the Health Insurance Marketplaces, including as a result of increased morbidity in the market;
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, or there are regulatory actions that limit the types of plans that can be offered, such as the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters;
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 a new Special Enrollment Period (“SEP”), termination of an existing SEP, 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;
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, or take significantly more time than expected to be successful.
For example, CMS is increasingly focused on improving integrity in the Health Insurance Marketplace eligibility and enrollment process, and we expect this focus to continue. During the second half of 2024, CMS enacted new measures to respond to increases in unauthorized changes in consumer enrollments by agents and brokers and to reduce consumer burdens related to unauthorized enrollments, and these measures may make it more difficult for members to enroll in new plans or switch from one plan to another. In addition, on June 25, 2025, CMS issued the Program Integrity Rules which, among other things, created stricter eligibility verification processes for APTCs, as well as other requirements related to ACA plan enrollment, including shorter open enrollment periods and the suspension of certain special enrollment periods. For instance, certain provisions that went into effect in August 2025 include a pause in the SEP for individuals making <150% of the Federal Poverty Level (“FPL”). In addition, starting in 2026 with respect to policy year 2027, the rules will change the annual open enrollment period (“OEP”) for all individual market coverage to run from November 1 through December 15 preceding the coverage year, instead of through January 15 of the coverage year. Many of the provisions of the Program Integrity Rules would have impacted enrollment processes and APTC eligibility in the 2026 OEP, except that a federal district court in Maryland stayed certain provisions of the rules in connection with City of Columbus v. Kennedy. The court found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits with respect to their claims that certain provisions were contrary to law or arbitrary and capricious and therefore stayed these provisions pending the outcome of the litigation. The stayed provisions included stricter income eligibility verification processes for APTCs, such as provisions requiring more frequent reconciliation of APTC eligibility against tax returns, which would have impacted the number of individuals that qualified for APTCs. In addition, the court stayed the provision imposing a $5 monthly premium on enrollees in $0 premium plans who do not actively reenroll during open enrollment, which would have effectively prevented automatic re-enrollment in the 2026 OEP. We do not expect that this litigation will conclude before 2026, and CMS has confirmed that the stayed provisions will not be in effect during the 2026 OEP.
We expect the Program Integrity Rules could result in a number of individuals in states where we operate losing eligibility for APTCs and could therefore reduce the number of individuals enrolled in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Although we do not expect that the provisions stayed by the court in City of Columbus v. Kennedy will be effective for the 2026 open enrollment period, the provisions that have taken effect, and/or the uncertainty caused by the stayed provisions, may still impact participation during 2026. In addition, we are unable to predict with certainty the outcome of this litigation, or the impact of the Program Integrity Rules on the Health Insurance Marketplace generally or our future membership.
The OBBBA enacted several provisions that may impact the number of Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees and, by extension, the size of our member population. These include ending the APTCs for individuals who enroll in plans via the SEP with income below 150% of the FPL, prohibiting automatic re-enrollment for tax year 2028, and eliminating APTC eligibility for some formerly covered individuals (such as refugees and other immigrant populations). While we expect these provisions to result in a reduction in the number of enrolled individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace, we cannot predict with certainty the magnitude of the impact on our membership or our business.
The Program Integrity Rules, as well as the OBBBA, could have a material impact on the Health Insurance Marketplace and could also have a material impact on our business, revenue, operating results, and financial condition.
It is possible that enhanced APTCs could be renewed, but the timing of such a decision, and the manner in which the enhanced APTCs could be renewed, is uncertain and could occur late in 2025, leading to potential disruption and uncertainty for the 2026 open enrollment period. Our failure to effectively anticipate, implement, and manage the operational and regulatory complexities associated with the extension of enhanced APTCs could also result in a negative member experience and make it difficult to manage membership changes effectively, and negatively affect our reputation, financial condition, and results of operations. If the enhanced APTCs are renewed, it is possible that a SEP would be initiated which could alter member mix and enrollment levels (including by allowing individuals who enrolled with us during open enrollment to switch to a competitor’s plan), as well as shift consumer behavior. Because these changes would likely occur with limited advance notice and implementation guidance, we may be required to quickly modify our systems, pricing, enrollment processes, and customer support operations to accommodate new eligibility rules, or marketplace workflows. Accelerated timelines increase the risk of operational errors, system disruptions, and member service issues, including delayed or incorrect premium billing, or data reconciliation challenges with federal and state marketplaces. Additionally, sudden enrollment surges may strain our customer service capacity, technology infrastructure, and third-party vendor relationships, potentially reducing service quality. While we are actively planning for various legislative and regulatory outcomes, including full or partial renewal, and have analyzed several operational pathways to mitigate these risks, these efforts may not be sufficient to prevent adverse impacts on our operations and financial results if the APTCs are renewed in whole or in part by the end of 2025, or are renewed on unfavorable terms.
CMS recently announced the resumption of periodic data matching operations at least twice per calendar year to decrease the number of people simultaneously enrolled in Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program “CHIP” and a subsidized ACA health plan. These initiatives include sharing lists of dually-enrolled individuals with states and state-based exchanges, and for those dually enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP and a federally-facilitated exchange plan, directly notifying them so they can rectify their enrollment status. These provisions may result in a reduction in the number of enrolled individuals in the Health Insurance Marketplace, but we cannot predict with certainty the magnitude of the impact on our membership, overall market morbidity, or our business.
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 overall market morbidity, 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 projections of our future expenses and of the future morbidity of the Health Insurance Marketplace. 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, as well as accurately estimate the future morbidity of the Health Insurance Marketplace (and estimate our risk adjustment transfer).
Numerous factors impact our ability to accurately estimate and control our medical expenses, including if the underlying data used as the basis for our estimates is incomplete or doesn’t correctly represent the health of our members. Furthermore, many of these factors are not within our control, including, but not limited to the items set forth below. In addition, many of the factors listed below may also impact our ability to estimate the future morbidity of the Health Insurance Marketplace:
changes in healthcare regulations and practices, including subregulatory guidance, regulations, or statutes that govern individual plans, or the Health Insurance Marketplaces;
the impact on the morbidity of our members or the broader market member population from ongoing regulatory actions to improve the integrity in the ACA eligibility and enrollment process (including the Program Integrity Rules and the OBBBA), the potential elimination of enhanced APTCs or the potential extension of enhanced APTCs, in whole or in part, by the end of the year, and Medicaid redeterminations;
increases in the costs of healthcare facilities and services, medical devices and supplies, pharmaceutical products and ingredients, including due to the introduction and adoption of new or costly medical technologies and pharmaceuticals, the impact of legislative or regulatory actions, including the imposition of tariffs on certain pharmaceuticals or other foreign imports, or macroeconomic inflationary effects;
the impact on the morbidity of our members or the broader market member population from any shrinkage in the Health Insurance Marketplace that results from price increases by us or our competitors;
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;
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;
the broader competitive landscape, including new membership resulting from other health insurers exiting our markets or changing their pricing strategies, 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 or newly enrolling member populations;
changes in the utilization of prescription drugs, medical services or other covered items or services, including changes in member utilization patterns ahead of potential lapses in coverage due to regulatory change (such as the potential expiration of the enhanced APTCs);
changes in our member demographic mix, the geographic concentration of our members, and the distribution of members among our plans;
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 to, or reductions of, our utilization management functions, such as preauthorization of services, concurrent review or requirements for physician referrals;
the occurrence of natural disasters, terrorism, public health emergencies, major epidemics and pandemics; and
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 to facilitate enrollment in the ACA by individuals who lost Medicaid coverage under the redetermination process. 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 had substantially completed their unwinding processes in 2024. 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. We also believe that members who have enrolled in the ACA through the Medicaid redetermination process are higher utilizers of care and have increased the overall morbidity of the Health Insurance Marketplace. 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 estimates will be adequate, and any adjustments to these estimates 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.
It is possible that the enhanced APTCs could be renewed, in whole or in part, but the timing of such a decision is uncertain and could occur late in 2025, leading to potential disruption and uncertainty for the 2026 open enrollment period. If enhanced APTCs are renewed, in whole or in part, failure to effectively anticipate, implement, and manage the regulatory and operational complexities could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. There are a number of scenarios that regulators could implement, such as requiring plans to refile rates, attempting to reduce premiums on a uniform basis, or requiring us to rebate a portion of our premiums to members or the federal government. Any of these efforts would need to be implemented in a highly compressed timeline, could strain our operational resources and lead to delays, errors, or increased costs, and increase the risk of pricing inaccuracies, margin compression, and/or that premiums are insufficient to cover the cost of our members’ medical expenses. The overall market disruption caused by this uncertainty could also create an unstable operating environment, making it challenging to accurately forecast enrollment and manage our financial outlook. While we are actively planning for various legislative and regulatory outcomes, including full or partial renewal, and have analyzed several operational pathways to mitigate these risks, these efforts may not be sufficient to prevent adverse impacts on our operations and financial results if the enhanced APTCs are renewed in whole or in part before the end of the year or are renewed on unfavorable terms.
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 and federal and state legislative and regulatory actions, 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, and we may experience similar variance in the future. If it is determined that our estimates are significantly different from actual results, our results of operations and financial position could be adversely affected.
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. The data that we rely upon to calculate these estimates includes data received from independent third parties. In addition, the data may be incomplete, can vary considerably from period to period, requires considerable judgment in interpretation, lacks context and provides limited insight. Moreover, our estimates are subject to change due to factors outside of our control, such as changes in legislation, regulations, regulatory enforcement, enrollment in government health plans, inflation, market size, market morbidity, the actions of our competitors, and other uncertainties. Consequently, our estimates of our health plans’ risk scores for any period, our estimates of the risk scores for the markets in which we participate, and any resulting change in our accrual of risk adjustment transfers related thereto, has had a negative impact in the past and could in the future have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. For example, in July 2025 we received third-party reports, based on industry claims data through April 2025, providing estimates of the market risk score (a measure of market morbidity) for the states where we participate in the ACA. As a result of this new data, the Company significantly increased its estimate of the risk adjustment transfer as of June 30, 2025. We further increased our estimate of the risk transfer adjustment transfer as of September 30, 2025 based on updated estimates of the market risk score received in September 2025 relating to industry claims data through July 2025. Furthermore, a significant change in our risk adjustment transfer estimates could require us to contribute additional capital to our insurance subsidiaries to meet statutory capital requirements. We may not be able to fund the increased capital contribution requirements with our available cash resources on a timely basis, or at all 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 and could require us to raise capital during periods where additional capital is not available on favorable terms, or at all.
The data provided to CMS to determine our risk scores are subject to audit by CMS for 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.
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