Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is Ramey Peru , Chair of the Board. Welcome to the Elevance Health 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I will preside as Chair of today's meeting. The meeting is called to order and voting is open through the meeting website. Shareholders of record and their proxy holders can vote online during the formal meeting by clicking on the Q&A icon on the meeting website. After the formal meeting, Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO, will provide a business update, followed by a question- and- answer session. Joining online are our other directors, as well as several key Elevance Health executives and representatives from Ernst & Young, our independent auditors. I will now ask Kathy Kiefer, Corporate Secretary, to proceed with the meeting agenda.
Thank you, Ramey. The agenda and rules of conduct and procedures for the meeting and question- and- answer session are posted on the meeting website. To conduct an orderly meeting, we ask that you abide by these rules. Pursuant to the rules, the only matters to be acted upon by the shareholders during this meeting are set forth in the agenda. Alisa Zagare and Katherine Reyes from Computershare have been appointed to act as Inspector of Election for the matters to be voted on during today's meeting. I will file the oaths of office of the Inspector of Election with the minutes of the meeting. A complete list of our shareholders of record is available for review on the meeting website. Most shareholders have already voted by proxy, and proxy votes have been tallied. If you have already voted, no further action is required.
If you have not yet voted, you may do so by clicking the vote icon on the meeting website. The inspector of elections has reported that the majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote are present today, either virtually or by proxy, and therefore a quorum is present for purposes of conducting the business of the meeting. As described in the proxy, there are four items to be voted on during this meeting. The first proposal is the election of directors Gail Boudreaux, Robert Dixon, Jr., and Deanna Strable, each to hold office until the 2029 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and to hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. The Board recommends a vote for each of the Director nominees. The second proposal is an advisory vote on the compensation of our company's named executive officers or the say on pay vote.
The Board recommends approval of this proposal. The third proposal is to vote on ratification of the appointment of Ernst & Young as our company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026. The Board recommends approval of this proposal. The fourth item is to vote on a shareholder proposal requesting an independent study on the impact of prohibiting corporate contributions to partisan 527 tax-exempt political groups. Mr. Jonas Kron with Trillium Asset Management will present the proposal. Mr. Kron, you have 3 minutes to present the proposal.
Good morning. My name is Jonas Kron, and I am pleased to move item 4, Trillium Asset Management's shareholder proposal, which asks the Board to commission an independent study evaluating the impact of adopting a policy that would prohibit corporate contributions to partisan 527 political organizations. First, let me emphasize what the proposal does not do. It does not ask Elevance to change its political spending policy. It does not ask the company to stop making political contributions. It does not ask the company to disengage from the public policy process. It simply asks for a study, a responsible step to help shareholders assess whether a narrow category of spending is beneficial to the company. The reason is straightforward. Elevance cannot demonstrate that its contributions to partisan 527s provide measurable value to the company or its shareholders.
In 2024, the company spent $1.6 million, nearly half its total political contributions, on these partisan political organizations. Yet, the company does not appear to track whether these contributions improve access to policymakers, create better policy outcomes, or deliver any tangible benefits. Partisan 527s are unique. They aggregate funds and distribute them to partisan candidates and partisan political efforts, Elevance does not control who ultimately benefits. That creates a risk of supporting positions or candidates that conflict with Elevance's stated goals and of alienating employees, customers, and shareholders who are politically diverse. The company argues that it has policies, governance, and disclosures in place, those processes do not answer the central question raised by the proposal. Are partisan 527 contributions beneficial to Elevance? Do they improve outcomes? Are they worth the reputational risks they may create?
Oversight and disclosure are important, but they are not substitutes for effectiveness evaluation. Governance processes tell us how decisions are made, not whether those decisions produce value or expose the company to unnecessary risks. The problem with Elevance's position is that it is an assumption made without the very data this study would produce. Given the size of these contributions and the absence of any demonstrated return on that investment, an independent study is a prudent next step. It will give the Board and shareholders objective information to assess alignment with Elevance's long-term interests. In conclusion, I urge shareholders to vote for this proposal because it is limited in scope, modest in cost, focused on transparency and efficacy, and designed to strengthen the company's ability to make informed political spending decisions. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Kron. The Board recommends a vote against this proposal. That concludes the matters to be voted on during this meeting. The polls will be closed shortly. I'll turn it back to you, Ramey.
Thank you. The polls are now closed. According to the preliminary report provided by the Inspector of Election, the Director nominees have been elected. The executive compensation has received advisory approval. Ernst & Young has been ratified, and the shareholder proposal requesting an independent study on the impact of prohibiting corporate contributions to partisan 527 tax-exempt political groups did not pass. We will provide the final voting results in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC. The formal meeting is adjourned, and the window to submit questions is now closed. Gail will now provide a brief business update followed by a question-and-answer session. Kathy, please review the rules for this session.
We may make forward-looking statements during this session, and actual results may differ materially from these statements. You should refer to our periodic SEC filings for the risk factors related to our business that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements. As mentioned earlier, the rules of conduct and procedures will apply during this Q&A session. Now, I'll turn it over to Gail.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us for Elevance Health's Annual Shareholder Meeting. Thank you for your continued trust and investment in our company. Your support helps us advance our purpose to improve the health of humanity. In 2025, we delivered solid performance in a dynamic and challenging environment. We generated $197.6 billion in operating revenue, up 13% from the prior year. We delivered $7.2 billion in operating gain. We returned $4.1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases while ending the year with 45.2 million medical members. These results reflect the strength of our strategy, the discipline of our execution, and the value of our diversified model.
Over the course of the year, we took deliberate actions to improve operational efficiency, address cost to care pressures, and maintain expense discipline and margin stability. At the same time, we continued to invest for long-term growth across both health benefits and Carelon. Carelon, our health services platform, delivered approximately 33% growth in operating revenue and 17% growth in operating gain year-over-year. That performance reflects the value of our integrated capabilities and the growing demand for more connected care. It was supported by expansion and risk-based services, contributions from acquisitions, and continued growth in CarelonRx. We also made meaningful progress on quality. Today, 59% of our Medicare Advantage members are in 4-Star+ plans, up from 40% from a year ago. Just as important, we stayed focused on making the healthcare experience simpler for the people we serve.
Since 2024, we have removed prior authorization requirements for more than 400 services while maintaining human oversight in decision-making. We've continued to reduce friction, simplify processes, and improve the experience for members and care providers. As we look ahead, the need for that work is only increasing. Healthcare remains costly and complex, and expectations from members, employers, care providers, and policymakers continue to rise. That is why we are focused on what matters most: lowering the cost of healthcare, making the system easier to navigate, and improving health outcomes. We are advancing our whole health approach by integrating physical, behavioral, pharmacy, and social care in a more connected model. We're acting earlier and faster using real-time data and predictive analytics to guide people to the right care at the right time in the right setting.
We're simplifying the experience by reducing administrative burden and strengthening digital tools so care is easier to access and understand. We're continuing to expand value-based care, aligning incentives to quality and outcomes, not volume. In 2026, we're sharpening execution in three areas. First, we're prioritizing initiatives that deliver measurable impact on cost, quality, and experience while keeping our members at the center of every decision. Second, we're simplifying how work gets done, reducing complexity, increasing speed, and strengthening accountability. Third, we're operating as a more integrated technology-enabled health partner, including scaling AI responsibly across our operations to improve engagement, manage medical costs, and support better outcomes. None of this happens without our people and our culture. Through our Enterprise Skills Academy, more than 85% of associates are developing new skills, especially in data, digital capabilities, and responsible AI.
We were also proud to be recognized as a great place to work and named to Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the sixth consecutive year. Those recognitions reflect a culture grounded in purpose, accountability, and continuous improvement. We also benefit from a strong and engaged Board of Directors whose experience and oversight supported disciplined long-term value creation. Ramey Peru became our Independent Chair last year. His leadership made an immediate impact. Over the past year, we also welcomed Amy Schulman and Steve Collis to the Board, bringing valuable additional expertise. We are grateful to Kerry Clark for his dedicated service and many contributions as he retires from the Board. We remain confident in our path forward. In a complex environment, we are committed to delivering meaningful, measurable results for our members and communities, care providers, customers, and shareholders.
Together, as one Elevance Health, we are building a lower cost, more connected, and more effective healthcare system and creating long-term value. Thank you again for your continued support and for being part of Elevance Health's journey.
Thank you, Gail. It is now time for the question- and- answer session. At this time, there are no questions. Thank you for attending the Elevance Health Annual Shareholder Meeting. Have a nice day.
That concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.