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Health care fallout: Provider stocks jump, insurers fall
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/story/2012-06-28/health-care-stocks/55889578/1By Daniel Wagner, Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Stocks of hospital companies rose sharply and insurance companies fell Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld a requirement that almost all Americans carry health insurance.
he stock of HCA Holdings, formerly Hospital Corp. of America (HCA), the largest private hospital chain in the United States, rose more than 10%. Quest Diagnostics, which runs laboratories (DGX), rose almost 3%.
Insurance companies were down sharply as analysts rushed to sort out the ruling. UnitedHealth Group stock (UNH) fell almost 4%, WellPoint (WLP) 7% and Aetna (AET) 4.6%.
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The most likely reason insurance companies stocks are falling is that the insurers will be forced to pay 80% or more of their premiums to actual health care, thereby eating into their profits. Bad for them, good for their clients!
