“Within that, the quarterly pattern will look familiar with the first quarter below the midpoint of that and the fourth quarter above the midpoint and trending up to the middle of the year.”

In context

“nking about any comments on EPS seasonality that may be different in 2025 relative to '24? And then similarly, MLR sequencing that you're thinking maybe having a bit of a different pattern around that guidance that you gave for the full year? Thanks. Andrew Witty: Scott, thanks so much. John? John Rex: Good morning, Scott. So, I'd say in terms of seasonality, first half, second half, think of that as relatively balanced in terms of seasonality for earnings progression. In terms of medical care ratio and thinking about kind of those elements, you start first, of course, with a view that at the midpoint, the full year care ratio will be 86.5%. So, as we noted earlier, about 100 basis points above the elevated '24 level. And I just had discussed '24, it's included a number of discrete items. Within that, the quarterly pattern will look familiar with the first quarter below the midpoint of that and the fourth quarter above the midpoint and trending up to the middle of the year. And then, within the year, the pattern familiar. So, those would be the elements we'd kind of think about as that patterns through. Slope a little impacted, of course, by some of the Part D changes that are out there also, that I think you're well aware of already because those have been out for a while. So, the slope of that will be impacted a bit by that also. Those would be the key elements. Andrew Witty: Great. John, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Next question? Operator: We'll go next to Sarah James with Cantor Fitzgerald. Sarah James: Thank you. I'll stick on MLR. John, could you help us bridge '24 to '25 by sizing some of the impact of the components that you called out, like your assumptions on core trends versus IRA, and any offsets like rates or non-repeat of the MA Group refund”