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☆ UnitedHealth's first-quarter report will offer a window into Change cyberattack costs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Bertha Coombs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Everybody looks to United as the bellwether of all of health-care services. This will be different," said Lisa Gill, managing director and health care analyst at JPMorgan. The data breach at the Change Healthcare unit forced the firm to take down its massive billing and payment processing service. While the company has restored services for pharmacies, the outage has continued to disrupt operations for health-care providers across the country. Larger providers, such as home infusion services firm Option Care Health , have also warned that the outage could impact their quarterly results.

Persons: UnitedHealth Group's, Lisa Gill, Scott Fidel, UnitedHealth, they'd, James Allred, he's, Allred Organizations: JPMorgan, Healthcare, Optum, OptumRx, Stephens, American Medical Association, Aesthetics, Care Locations: Nashville

☆ 2 startups posted big membership growth in the lucrative senior health plan business — after other young insurers failed
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Just a few years ago, a crop of venture-backed health insurance startups embarked on planting a flag in the crowded but lucrative health plan business for seniors. Bright Health, which has exited the insurance business entirely as of this year, sold its Medicare Advantage plans in December. However, there are signs that the Medicare Advantage business isn’t as much of a goldmine as it used to be. It takes an enormous amount of capital to grow big in the insurance business, Fidel said. Its Medicare Advantage membership totals about 4 million.

Persons: haven’t, Stephens, underscoring, Oscar Health, Clover, Cowen, Gary Taylor, didn’t, Scott Fidel, it’s, they’ll, Fidel, UnitedHealthcare Organizations: Alignment Healthcare, Medicare, Business, Bright, Oscar, Services, Humana, CVS Health, Aetna, CVS Locations: California, New Jersey

☆ Cigna, Humana shares fall after report health-care giants are in talks to merge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Cigna and Humana slid Wednesday after a report that the two health-care giants are in talks to merge. A Cigna spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the report from The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. A Humana spokesperson declined to comment. A Cigna spokesperson at the time said the company does not comment on "rumors or speculation." Some analysts have suggested that a potential combination with Humana could be a reason for Cigna to offload its Medicare Advantage business.

Persons: Humana's, Cigna, Scott Fidel, Stephens, Fidel Organizations: Humana, Wall Street, STAT, CNBC PRO

[1/2] A UnitedHealth Group health insurance card is seen in a wallet in this picture illustration October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 13 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth (UNH.N) reported a third-quarter profit on Friday ahead of analysts' estimates, helped by a lower-than-feared rise in medical costs at the company's health insurance unit. UnitedHealth's profit beat and slight raise in annual forecast set the stage for other insurers in the industry that suffered a nearly $60-billion wipeout in market value in June, on fears of a spike in medical costs. UnitedHealth said in July it expects quarterly medical costs to be "a little bit lower" sequentially. In the third quarter, the company's medical loss ratio, the percentage of spend on claims compared to premiums collected, was 82.3%, versus 83.2% in the second quarter.

Persons: Lucy Nicholson, Stephens, Scott Fidel, UnitedHealth, Mariam Sunny, Bhanvi, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: REUTERS, Humana, Thomson Locations: COVID, Bengaluru

July 14 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group's (UNH.N) quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates on Friday as a smaller-than-expected jump in medical costs allayed fears that a resumption in long-delayed surgical procedures would hit profit growth, sending its shares up 5%. The beat from the industry bellwether lifted the shares of rivals Humana (HUM.N), Cigna (CI.N), CVS Health (CVS.N) and Elevance Health (ELV.N) between 2% and 5%. Chief financial officer John Rex said the company expects medical costs for the third quarter to be "a little bit lower" compared to the second quarter. UnitedHealth's profit of $6.14 per share for the second quarter beat analysts' expectations of $5.99, according to Refinitiv. Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Raghav Mahobe in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja DesaiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: John Rex, Stephens, Scott Fidel, UnitedHealth, Humana, Bhanvi Satija, Pooja Desai Organizations: Wall, Humana, CVS Health, Elevance, Health, Medicare, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

April 26 (Reuters) - Humana Inc (HUM.N) raised its annual adjusted profit forecast on Wednesday after lower medical costs in the firm's government-backed health insurance business helped it beat profit estimates for the first quarter. Some analysts stressed on increased investor scrutiny into whether certain one-time items were helping lower medical costs artificially. Humana CFO Susan Diamond said the insurer saw favorable cost trends in the quarter even as hospitals reported a recovery in procedures. On an adjusted basis, Humana expects annual profit per share of at least $28.25, compared with its previous forecast of at least $28. For the first quarter, it reported adjusted profit of $9.38 per share, beating estimates of $9.27.

☆ The era of health insurance disruptors is over
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Today, they're mostly the poster children of just how challenging it is to break into the insurance industry. Clover Health; Bright Health; Oscar Health; Olivia Reaney/Business InsiderOscar, founded in 2012, and Bright, in 2015, set out to sell health plans to people buying coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Elevance Health, the parent company of Anthem health plans, is No. Health insurance remains overly complex and mind-numbingly frustrating. Established health insurers haven't been able to stem the rise in health costs, which are mostly determined by the prices for medical care.

☆ Humana profit beats on slow elective-care rebound
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Humana Inc (HUM.N) beat third-quarter profit estimates on Wednesday, as a sluggish recovery in elective procedures helped the health insurer keep medical costs in check. Humana's guidance to enroll 325,000 to 400,000 Medicare Advantage members next year marks a return to industry rate, one year ahead of schedule, Stephens analyst Scott Fidel said in a note. In September, Humana raised it forecast, citing no COVID-19 "headwind materializing" and lower-than-expected medical cost trends in the company's Medicare Advantage and Medicaid businesses. A lower ratio is better for a health insurer as it indicates a tight rein on costs. Humana said its adjusted profit for the third quarter was $6.88 per share, above estimates of $6.28, according to Refinitiv data.

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