“Overall, we expect these results to generate adjusted operating income growth of 4% to 5%.”

In context

“to generate revenue growth of 11% to 13%. Our projected medical benefit ratio for 2023 is 84.7%, plus or minus 50 basis points. As I just noted, we do not assume prior year reserve development in our projections. We are providing a cautious outlook for HCB adjusted operating income, expecting growth in a range of about 2% to 4% and reflecting a prudent assumption regarding the performance of our individual exchange business, lower individual MA enrollment and investments in our Stars Improvement initiatives. Moving to our Pharmacy Services segment. We expect revenue in a range from 1% to 2% growth, driven by a successful 2023 selling season and strong retention, partially offset by lower Medicaid volume. For the full year 2023, we expect pharmacy claims to range from flat to growth of 1%. Overall, we expect these results to generate adjusted operating income growth of 4% to 5%. Finally, shifting to our Retail/LTC segment. As we discussed previously, this segment will be burdened by the lower contribution from COVID as we transition into the endemic stage as well as continued reimbursement pressure in the pharmacy. We expect revenue growth of 1% to 3% and prescription growth of 2% to 4% despite continuing decreases of COVID-19 vaccines. Overall, for the Retail/LTC segment, we expect 2023 adjusted operating income to decline from 2022 to between $5.95 billion and $6.05 billion. For items below adjusted operating income, we expect our interest expense for 2023 to be approximately $2.23 billion. Our tax rate is expected to be approximately 25.5%. I want to make a few comments as you think about the cadence of our earnings throughout the year as Retail returns to ear”