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Shares of health insurance companies fell Wednesday after United Health Group They warned of rising medical costs as older Americans begin to catch up on their surgeries delay During the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shares of UnitedHealth, the largest US health care provider by market value, closed down about 6%. Medicare-focused insurance company Humana decreased 11%.
suitability validity Closed nearly 7% lower, and CVS Healthwhich owns insurance company Aetna, fell nearly 8 percent.
In recent years, insurance companies have benefited from delays in non-urgent procedures due to hospital staff shortages and the pandemic, which has overwhelmed hospitals with Covid patients. Hospitals at the time were widely seen as too risky to engage in elective procedures.
But on Tuesday, UnitedHealth executives indicated the trend may be reversing.
CFO John Ricks said at the Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference that the company reported “strong outpatient care activity” throughout April, May and the first part of June.
Most of the increase in care came from Medicare enrollees undergoing outpatient heart, hip and knee replacement procedures, according to Ricks.
UnitedHealth CEO Timothy Noel said seniors with Medicare are getting “much more comfortable accessing services for things they might have paid a little more for.”
Ricks said the amount of premium proceeds spent on care for the second quarter could be at the higher end or “moderately higher” than expected due to the increase in procedures.
Shares of medical device manufacturing companies Medtronic And Striker They jumped 2.5% and 4%, respectively, after UnitedHealth’s remarks.
Hospital operator shares HCA Healthcare And Tenet Healthcare also rose to the top.
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