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Posted on November 22, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was selected by Donald Trump to run the U.S. health and human services department, is working on plans to rid the American Medical Association from its role in drawing up Medicare’s billing codes, which sets doctors’ fees for more than 10,000 procedures, Oliver Barnes of The Financial Times reports.
The plan would result in an upheaval of a system that has been in place for decades. Publicly traded companies in the healthcare space include CVS Health (CVS), Centene (CNC), Cigna (CI), Elevance Health (ELV), Humana (HUM), Molina Healthcare (MOH) and UnitedHealth (UNH).
A class action lawsuit has been filed in Minnesota against UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) over allegations that the health insurer and its subsidiary, NaviHealth, used a faulty algorithm to deny rehabilitation care for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. California-based Clarkson Law Firm filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota on Tuesday following an investigative report published by the health-focused news site Stat.
It alleges that UnitedHealth and its subsidiary, NaviHealth, used the computer algorithm named nH Predict to “systematically deny claims” of patients recovering from debilitating illnesses in nursing homes. According to the lawsuit, despite its 90% error rate, the company used the algorithm to deny claims, knowing that only 0.2% would appeal its decision. According to Stat, Humana (HUM), the nation’s second-largest player in the Medicare Advantage market behind UnitedHealth (UNH), also uses nH Predict. UnitedHealth (UNH) denied it used the NaviHealth predict tool to arrive at coverage decisions.
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Ironically, UnitedHealth’s (NYSE:UNH) Optum Rx unit announced plans to move eight insulin products to “preferred” status on formularies to further expand the number of patients benefiting from $35 or less monthly out-of-pocket costs for the lifesaving therapy.
Optum Rx, UNH’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), said that effective January 1, 2024, all short- and rapid-acting insulins will move to Tier 1 in commercial formularies, a list of drugs the company maintains to indicate coverage for insured patients.
Posted on April 3, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Medicare Part C papers, glasses and stethoscope.
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Humana and other managed-care stocks were down sharply in trading Tuesday after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced an average 3.7% increase in revenue for Medicare Advantage plans in 2025. That amount is the same as the proposed increase the government had announced in January, but it came as a shock to investors who were hoping for a slight bump.
Humana (HUM) shares fell sharply in early Tuesday trading, while rivals UnitedHealth UNH and CVS Health (CVS) traded firmly in the red, as the health insurance industry received yet another blow to its 2024 profit forecasts. All three major health insurance groups have trailed the broader market this year, with Humana down nearly 25%, amid concern that profit margins will be hit by a surge in medical costs tied to a rise in elective procedures. Those procedures had been delayed by the Covid pandemic.
The S&P 500 index fell 37.96 points (0.7%) to 5,205.81; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 396.61 points (1.0%) to 39,170.24; the NASDAQ Composite slipped 156.38 points (1.0%) to 16,240.45.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was up almost 3 basis points to 4.357%.
The CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX) rose 0.96 to 14.61.
Retailer, biotechnology, and regional bank shares were among the weakest performers Tuesday, leading a broad market slump in which declining stocks outnumber advancers by a greater than three-to-one ratio. The small-cap Russell 2000® Index (RUT) lost 1.8% and settled at a two-week low.
Energy companies, by contrast, extended recent strength behind an ongoing climb in WTI Crude Oil (/CL) futures, which surpassed $85 per barrel for the first time since late October. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX) advanced 2.1% and ended at a 5-½-month high. Oil prices have surged this year due to OPEC production cuts and concern over supply disruptions stemming from the Middle East conflict.
Posted on January 17, 2024 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™
By Staff Reporters
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Many analysts are talking about a rebound in healthcare stocks in 2024. If that’s the case, investors should load up on shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and buy the dip after the company’s Q4 results. The largest healthcare insurer in the U.S. reported Q4 financial results that beat Wall Street forecasts on the top and bottom lines. But, UNH stock dropped 3% due to higher-than-expected utilization rate for medical services.
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Uber is shutting down alcohol delivery app Drizly, the company confirmed, three years after acquiring the platform for $1.1 billion. Drizly will officially shut down at the end of March, Uber told The Associated Press. That means orders are open until then, Drizly said in details posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
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And, after a rocky couple of years for the Chinese economy, the country’s stock market appears to be in free fall now, with authorities asking institutional investors not to sell stocks in an attempt to stabilize share prices as foreigners are pulling out. On Monday, Chinese equities dipped after the country’s central bank decided to keep its medium-term policy rate unchanged at 2.5 percent, failing to cut interest as was widely expected by investors. The country’s CSI 300 was at its lowest level since 2019, a record only previously beaten in October 2023.
Here’s where the major benchmarks ended:
The S&P 500® index (SPX) fell 17.85 points (0.4%) to 4,765.98; the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 231.86 points (0.6%) to 37,361.12; the NASDAQ Composite® (COMP) declined 28.41 points (0.2%) to 14,944.35.
The 10-year Treasury note yield rose about 11 basis points to 4.06%.
The CBOE® Volatility Index (VIX) rose 0.59 to 13.84.
Banks and energy shares were among the weakest performers Tuesday, the latter sector pressured by a 1.1% drop in crude oil futures. Climbing yields appeared to drag down financial shares, with the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) sinking 1.7% to its lowest level in over a month. Semiconductors were among the few sectors to post gains.