Analysis: HMO stocks may struggle over health claim costs
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Americans’ low use of healthcare services has proved a boon to health insurers over the past two years, reducing medical claim costs and raising profits. The growing view on Wall Street is that those days are over. A series of first-quarter earnings disappointments for health insurers in the past month has damped hopes for a repeat of the profit windfalls that led to huge stock gains in 2011. After digesting the reports, many investors fear that medical claims costs are poised to rise. …
