Healthy Returns: Higher medical costs are pinching insurers
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A UnitedHealth Group health insurance card is seen in a wallet, Oct.14, 2019. Lucy Nicholson | Reuters Good afternoon! Health insurers are feeling the squeeze as older patients head to the doctor more than expected. CVS , which owns health insurer Aetna, on Wednesday slashed its full-year profit outlook , citing the potential for higher medical costs to bite into its profits. That warning came two weeks after insurance giant Humana cited the same factor as it issued a dismal 2024 earnings guidance . Medical costs from Medicare Advantage patients have spiked over the last year as more older adults return to hospitals to undergo procedures they had delayed during the Covid pandemic, such as joint and hip replacements. Medicare Advantage , a type of privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a key source of growth and profits for the insurance industry. More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in such plans, enticed by lower...