|
The
company also raised its forecast for 2016 adjusted net earnings
to about $8.00 per share, from $7.80-$7.95.
Revenue from the company's Optum business, which manages drug
benefits and offers healthcare data analytics services, rose 9
percent to $21.1 billion.
The company said its consolidated medical care ratio, or the
amount it spends on medical claims compared with the insurance
premiums that it brings in, decreased 60 basis points to 80.3
percent in the third quarter.
UnitedHealth which also sells employer-based insurance as well
as Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare health plans, added that
medical cost trends remained within expectations.
UnitedHealth's net earnings attributable to shareholders rose to
$1.97 billion, or $2.03 per share, in the third quarter ended
Sept. 30, from $1.60 billion, or $1.65 per share, a year
earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the health insurer earned $2.17 per share,
beating average estimate of $2.08, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
Total revenue rose to $46.29 billion from $41.49 billion,
slightly above analysts' estimate of $46.09 billion.
UnitedHealth along with Aetna Inc and Humana Inc have said they
will pull back from the Obamacare individual insurance market in
2017, citing financial losses due to the costs of covering
members who are sicker than expected.
The third-quarter results likely suggest that UnitedHealth has
now largely ring-fenced the risk within the premium deficiency
reserve, that it boosted in the second quarter, Credit Suisse
analysts said in a note on Tuesday.
UnitedHealth's report often sets the tone for other health
insurers.
Shares of UnitedHealth, which is the only large insurer not
involved in any of the major consolidation deals under review by
antitrust regulators, were up 1.4 percent at $136 in light
trading.
Up to Monday's close, the company's shares had gained about 14
percent this year, compared with a 3.7 percent decline in the
S&P 500 healthcare index
(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
