April 24 (Reuters) - Molina Healthcare ( MOH ) beat Wall

Street estimates for first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, aided

by higher premiums in its government-backed Medicaid insurance

plans for people with low income.

The company also reaffirmed its 2024 outlook, with premium

revenue of about $38 billion and adjusted earnings of at least

$23.50 per diluted share. Wall Street analysts expect full-year

earnings of $23.56 per share.

Molina's quarterly medical cost ratio, the percentage of

premiums paid out for medical services, was 88.5%, above LSEG

estimates of 88.2%.

The California-based health insurer's main business is

Medicaid insurance, a joint federal and state government-run

insurance program for low-income people.

Molina served about 5.7 million people through its Medicaid

plans as of March 31, an increase of 9% compared to previous

year.

The remaining members are enrolled in Medicare plans that

Molina offers. Government-backed Medicare program helps cover

medical costs for people aged 65 and older, or those with

certain disabilities.

The company's Medicaid membership rose to 5.1 million in the

reported quarter, and Medicare membership rose to 258,000.

Earlier this month, rivals Centene ( CNC ), Elevance

and Humana were awarded Medicaid contracts by the state

of Florida which will be valid for six years.

The contract loss is expected to hit Medicaid-reliant

companies such as Molina.

The company posted adjusted profit of $5.73 per share for

the quarter ended March 31, while analysts were expecting $5.59

per share.

Molina's revenue from premiums came in at $9.5 billion for

the quarter, compared with analysts' expectation of $9.2

billion.