Hawaii Medical Service Association’s investments bailed out the state’s largest health insurer last year after premium revenue fell short of covering health benefits, administrative expenses and costs associated with the Affordable Care Act.

The insurer said Tuesday that it generated $42.7 million from its investments to end 2015 with a profit of $7.6 million. That compares with a profit of $4.2 million in 2014 when HMSA made $34.4 million from its investments.

HMSA did not release its fourth-quarter results.

“As a responsible health plan, we carefully manage our members’ premiums to make sure they have access to doctors, hospitals, prescription drugs and medical services when they need them,” HMSA President and CEO Michael Gold said.

“I’m confident that our members and employer groups got great value in 2015. We’re a nonprofit, and every dollar our members put into their health plan premium went back to their health care benefits and the cost of administering those benefits.”

HMSA collected $3 billion in premiums last year and spent $2.7 billion, or about 90 percent of premiums, to pay doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. The remaining 10 percent of premiums, plus investment income, covered $257.3 million in administrative costs plus $74.3 million in ACA fees and taxes.

In 2014 HMSA collected $2.87 billion in premiums with $2.6 billion, or 90.5 percent, spent on health care services for its members. Administrative costs of $238 million represented 8.3 percent of premium revenue, and another $65.4 million, or 2.3 percent of premiums, was used to cover fees and taxes associated with ACA.

HMSA grew its membership 0.8 percent during 2015 to 726,487 from 720,982 in 2014.

2015 NET

$7.6 million

2014 NET

$4.2 million