The warning also dragged down shares of rival health insurers that largely benefited from delayed non-urgent surgeries such as hip and knee replacements and hospital staffing shortages that had further led to fewer procedures. UnitedHealth, at a Goldman Sachs healthcare conference, highlighted elevated demand for outpatient medical procedures, particularly related to knees and hips, from patients in Medicare health plans meant for those aged 65 and above. UnitedHealth also expects its full-year medical loss ratio at the upper end of its forecast. UnitedHealth's 18.51 forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio - a common benchmark for valuing stocks - is higher than rival Cigna Corp's (CI.N) 10.29 and CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) 8.26. Shares of Humana Inc (HUM.N) fell 7%, while Elevance Health and CVS Health Corp's (CVS.N) fell more than 3% each in premarket trading.

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Persons: Goldman Sachs, Tim Noel, UnitedHealth, Julie Utterback, Cigna Corp's, Leroy Leo, Shinjini Organizations: UnitedHealth, Goldman, CVS Health Corp, Humana Inc, Elevance, CVS Health, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru