Jan 23 (Reuters) - Elevance beat Wall Street

estimates for quarterly profit on Thursday, partly helped by

lower-than-expected spending on medical care for its members.

Shares of the company rose 4.2% to $407 in premarket

trading.

Health insurers have been battling with higher medical costs

over the past few quarters. Elevance is less exposed to

government-backed Medicare Advantage plans for people aged 65

and older. It banks more on commercial and Medicaid health

plans.

For the quarter, Elevance's medical loss ratio - the

percentage of premiums spent on medical care - was 92.4%

compared to estimates of 92.65%.

The company sees annual adjusted profit per share to be

between $34.15 and $34.85, compared with analysts' estimates of

$34.58 per share, according to LSEG data.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported a fourth-quarter

profit of $3.84 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of

$3.80 per share.