UnitedHealth slides after warning on “disturbance” ahead in Medicaid business

Shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) are under pressure on Wednesday after the company said it sees “disturbance” coming in its Medicaid business. The comments made at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference pushed other health insurance names into negative territory as well.

DISTURBANCE COMING: UnitedHealth discussed at the Bernstein 40th Annual Strategic Decisions Conference its Medicaid business, stating that they have come through this “very sort of prolonged redetermination cycle in Medicaid.” The company also said it has been making sure “the utilization and the rates and everything else stay in perfect synchrony through a multi-quarter cycle.” However, “there’s probably going to be some disturbance around that,” UnitedHealth said, adding that they are “keeping an eye on that” as Medicaid is an area the company is focused on. “We’re feeling really good about where we are going into 2025,” the company added.

Heather Cianfrocco, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx subsidiary, also said during the conference that commercial and Medicaid “continue to be a focus for us, but it tends to be geographically specific and employer specific.”

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of UnitedHealth have slid over 4% to $481.25. Centene (CNC) has also declined around 1%, Molina Healthcare (MOH) has fallen 2% Humana (HUM) has dropped 5%, and Elevance (ELV) has slipped more than 3%.