Humana's Warning Sends Stock Plummeting, Rivals Suffer Decline

Humana's stock plummeted 11% to a nearly two-year low after cutting its earnings forecast and reporting sluggish growth in its Medicare Advantage plans for 2024. The company's higher-than-expected medical costs and lower-than-anticipated new plan additions contributed to the disappointing outlook, causing a ripple effect on other managed care stocks like UNH, CVS, Centene, Molina Healthcare, Elevance Health, and Cigna. Humana's warning on inpatient and outpatient costs, along with its balanced approach to pricing, led to a 1.8% growth projection for Medicare Advantage in 2024, significantly trailing industry growth.