Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Humana Stumbles On News Of Lower Medicare Rating
The Wall Street Journal: Humana Sees Potential Fallout From Lower Medicare Star-Rating Report
Humana Inc. on Wednesday indicated that a downgrade in a key Medicare quality measure could lower its federal reimbursements, but the insurer said the poor grade wasn’t a fair indication of how its business is faring. The company boosted its per share earnings guidance for its September quarter and current year. Still, shares in the company tumbled 5% on Thursday to close at $168.44. (Steele, 10/12)
Bloomberg: Humana Drops After Ratings For Its Medicare Plans Decline
Humana Inc., the health insurer planning to merge with Aetna Inc., fell the most in more than three months after seeing a sharp decline in government ratings of plans it offers under Medicare. The percentage of Humana’s membership in plans rated four stars or higher dropped to about 37 percent, or 1.17 million members, in July from 78 percent, or 2.15 million, a year earlier, according to ratings published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, on Wednesday. The decline is mainly due to lower scores as a result of a recent CMS audit, Humana said in a statement. (Darie, 10/12)
In other news —
The Wall Street Journal: These Health Insurance Mergers Aren’t Alike
Investors have taken a dim view of two big pending health insurance mergers. But the two deals are starting to diverge, which could give investors an opportunity. More than a year ago, four of the five largest private insurers agreed to mergers, which would consolidate the industry into three giants. The euphoria, which drove share prices to new heights, was short-lived. The Justice Department sued to block the two deals—between Aetna and Humana and Anthem and Cigna. (Grant, 10/12)
