Monday, October 28, 2013

Those complaining about their health care bill can thank one man.

I really don't want to hear the political rhetoric.

Insurers’ Stocks, Unhurt by the Dawn of the Health Care Law (click here)

By ANNA BERNASEK 
Published: October 26, 2013   

The Affordable Care Act has been controversial — so much so that Republican objections to it were a principal cause of the recent partial shutdown of the federal government....


...Because they face new regulations intended to broaden coverage and limit profit-taking, some analysts have been concerned that profits will suffer. But in the run-up to the Affordable Care Act, stock market prices have told a different story. 

Over the last 12 months, shares of the top five publicly traded health insurance companies — Aetna, WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Humana and Cigna — have increased by an average of 32 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has risen by just 24 percent. 

Strong profits in the current year, as growth slowed in overall health care costs, is one probable explanation for the out performance by the group...