Health, Insurance Stocks Gain After Trump Administration Plans Higher Payments to Medicare Insurers

By Connor Hart

Shares of health and insurance companies rose after the Trump administration said it will raise payments to Medicare insurers by 2.48% next year.

UnitedHealth Group's stock climbed 6% in premarket trading Tuesday, to $298.26. Shares of Elevance Health were up 5.4%, to $319, while Humana increased 9.2%, to $199.50. CVS Health, which owns Aetna, was trading hands 6.7% higher, at $78.20.

The final 2027 rates for Medicare Advantage--the private-insurer version of the federal program for seniors and the disabled--marks a stark difference from preliminary proposals in January that called for roughly flat rates, which had drawn fierce criticism from the industry and torpedoed shares of the largest companies in the space.

Rates also came in ahead of some analysts' expectations, The Wall Street Journal reported. Several had suggested a rate increase would likely be finalized at around 1% or slightly higher, with a "bull" case closer to 2% to 3%.

The final increase represents about $13 billion in additional payments to the insurers, the Journal said.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-07-26 0721ET