Health insurer stocks dropped on Wednesday after UnitedHealth Group warned of higher medical costs as older Americans start to catch up on surgeries they delayed during the Covid pandemic.
Shares of UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. healthcare provider by market value, closed around 6% lower.
Elevance Health closed roughly 7% lower, and CVS Health , which owns the insurer Aetna, slid nearly 8%.
The company has recorded "strong outpatient care activity" throughout April, May and the early part of June, CFO John Rex said at a Goldman Sachs healthcare conference.
Shares of medical device manufacturers Medtronic and Stryker jumped 2.5% and 4%, respectively, after UnitedHealth's remarks.
Persons:
UnitedHealth, John Rex, Goldman Sachs, Medicare enrollees, Rex, Timothy Noel, Stryker, UnitedHealth's
Organizations:
UnitedHealth, Medicare, Humana, Elevance Health, CVS Health, Aetna, Insurance, Goldman, Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare