UnitedHealth Reports $3.4 Billion Profit And Sees 2026 Earnings Growth
UnitedHealth Group profits fell to $3.4 billion in the second quarter as the giant provider of health benefits and services grapples with rising costs of providing health insurance to millions of Americans.
But the company, which brought back Stephen Hemsley to be chief executive officer earlier this year, says the 'company expects to return to earnings growth in 2026.'
In May, UnitedHealth Group suspended its financial outlook for the rest of the year and replaced its top executive, Andrew Witty, as the parent of UnitedHealthcare grapples with rising healthcare costs in its Medicare Advantage business. Medicare Advantage plans contract with the federal government to provide health benefits to seniors.
On Tuesday, UnitedHealth Group updated its 2025 outlook, which includes revenues of $445.5 billion to $448.0 billion, net earnings of at least $14.65 per share and adjusted earnings of at least $16 per share. The new outlook, which fell below what some analysts were forecasting, 'reflects first half 2025 performance and expectations for the remainder of the year, including higher realized and anticipated care trends,' the company said.
'UnitedHealth Group has embarked on a rigorous path back to being a high-performing company fully serving the health needs of individuals and society broadly,' Hemsley said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. 'As we strengthen operating disciplines, positioning us for growth in 2026 and beyond, the people at UnitedHealth Group will continue to support the millions of patients, physicians and customers who rely on us, guided by a culture of service and longstanding values.'
UnitedHealth, which has more than 50 million health plan subscribers under its UnitedHealthcare health insurance business, is seeing rising costs among health plan members in all three government-subsidized benefits it helps manage: Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and individual coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
'While we face challenges across our lines of business, we believe we can resolve these issues and recapture our earnings growth potential while ensuring people have access to high-quality, affordable health care,' UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Tim Noel said in a statement accompanying UnitedHealth's earnings report.
In the company's second quarter, UnitedHealthcare's 'consolidated medical care ratio of 89.4% increased 430 basis points year-over-year.' That compares to 84.8% in the year earlier period and well below the ratio in the lower 80th percentile where health insurers like to be.
The increase in the medical cost ratio, which is the percentage of premium that goes toward medical costs, 'was primarily due to medical cost trends which significantly exceeded pricing trends, including both unit costs and the intensity of services delivered, and the ongoing effects of Medicare funding reductions,' the company said.
UnitedHealth's cost struggles are among the parade of health insurance companies that have struggled in the last two years to control costs of subscribers in plans subsidized by the government.
Just last week, Centene reported a rare quarterly as the provider of government-subsidized benefits struggles to manage costs of its health plan members. And earlier this month, Elevance Health, which sells Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, lowered its profit forecast for the rest of 2025 due to rising costs in its Medicaid plans and individual policies it sells under the ACA.
In addition, Molina Healthcare lowered its earnings guidance for the rest of the year in the face of cost pressures in all three of the government-subsidized health insurance programs it helps manage.
Medicare Advantage plans also contributed to struggles last year for Humana and CVS Health, which elevated a new chief executive in part to help gain control of its struggling Aetna health insurance business. CVS is also exiting the individual health insurance business, leaving about 1 million Aetna members in 17 states looking for new coverage in 2026.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
33 minutes ago
- Fox News
Plastic water bottle left in a hot car? Think twice before sipping from it
It's the height of summer, and for many Americans, that means scorching cars and forgotten plastic water bottles rolling around under the seats. But before you take a sip out of one of those, you might want to think twice, experts say. High temperatures and prolonged sun exposure can create conditions that lead to both chemical leaching from plastic bottles and bacterial growth, especially if the bottle has already been opened. Experts warn this dual threat could pose a risk to your health. "The combination of microbial growth and chemical leaching from the plastic makes it a double-edged sword," said Dr. Paul Savage, a toxin expert and chief medical officer at MDLifespan in Chicago. Many single-use plastic water bottles are made from a type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). When PET-containing bottles sit in the heat, the polymer chains in the plastic can start to break down and cause the release of various chemicals, including trace amounts of phenol, like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, into the water. "Phenols and phthalates are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with the natural hormones in our body," said Nicole Deziel, an environmental epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that the current levels of BPA and phthalates used in food packaging are safe, many of these substances have already been banned or voluntarily phased out. "While many of these bacteria are harmless in small amounts, heat can amplify their growth, potentially leading to harmful levels …" Plastics can start leaching chemicals when temperatures reach 85 degrees. And the process accelerates significantly at higher temperatures, especially above 100 degrees, Savage said. Even BPA-free bottles may not be a safer alternative. Many of these products use chemical substitutes that, according to Savage, are structurally similar to BPA and may have similar endocrine-disrupting effects. These alternatives haven't been studied extensively, leaving scientists cautious. Another growing concern is the presence of microplastics – tiny plastic particles that can shed from the bottle over time, especially under heat. Studies in animals have linked microplastic exposure to inflammation, cellular stress and hormonal disruption, though the full impact on human health remains unclear. Plastic bottles reused after opening – especially those left in warm environments – can also become a breeding ground for bacteria, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection), introduced from the mouth, hands or air. "While many of these bacteria are harmless in small amounts, heat can amplify their growth, potentially leading to harmful levels that cause gastrointestinal issues or infections," Savage told Fox News Digital. Bacteria can thrive in microscopic grooves and scratches in plastic bottles, Savage said. Studies have found that bacteria can grow in open bottles within 48 hours, even at room temperature. Some concerns about heated plastic bottles have been exaggerated or misunderstood. For example, claims that dioxins – known carcinogens – are released when plastic bottles are left in hot cars have been debunked by scientists. These rumors trace back in part to a viral 2006 email attributed to musician Sheryl Crow, a breast cancer survivor, who warned about cancer-causing chemicals from heated bottles. However, experts affirm that PET does not contain or produce dioxins. To reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and microbes, experts recommend avoiding the reuse of single-use plastic water bottles – especially in hot environments. "Glass and stainless steel can withstand repeated heat and sun exposure," said Bryan Quoc Le, a California food scientist and author of the book "150 Food Science Questions Answered." While bacteria can also grow in reusable containers, glass and stainless steel bottles are easier to clean thoroughly and can withstand high-temperature washing — "which can reduce microbial growth," Le added.
CNN
36 minutes ago
- CNN
China fights mosquito-borne chikungunya virus with drones, fines and nets as thousands fall ill
Chinese authorities are using nets, spraying insecticide and even deploying drones to fight the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus, which has infected thousands of people. Authorities had reported more than 7,000 cases of the virus as of Wednesday, mostly in the southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Foshan, some 170 kilometers (105 miles) from Hong Kong. The number of new cases appears to be dropping slowly, according to authorities. It appears to be the largest chikungunya outbreak ever documented in China, according to Cesar Lopez-Camacho of the University of Oxford. The virus is transmitted by infected mosquitoes and can cause fever and joint pain. 'What makes this event notable is that chikungunya has never been established in mainland China before,' Lopez-Camacho said in a statement. 'This suggests that most of the population had no preexisting immunity, making it easier for the virus to spread quickly.' Chinese state television has shown workers spraying insecticide around city streets, residential areas, construction sites and other areas where people may come into contact with mosquitoes. Workers sprayed some places before entering office buildings. Unusually heavy rains and high temperatures have worsened the crisis in China, and authorities are using drones to try to find standing water, where mosquitoes lay eggs. Authorities also have threatened to fine people who don't empty water from outdoor receptacles. Residents can be subject to fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,400) and have their electricity cut off. Because of the virus, the US has issued a travel advisory suggesting that Americans take extra precautions when visiting China's Guangdong province, where Foshan is located, as well as Bolivia and some island nations in the Indian Ocean. Since the 2003 SARS outbreak, China has used strict measures to fight the spread of viruses, including hard-line tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, patients are being forced to stay in hospital in Foshan for at least one week and authorities briefly enforced a two-week home quarantine, which was dropped because the disease cannot be transmitted between people. Reports also have emerged of attempts to stop the spread of chikungunya with fish that eat mosquito larvae and even larger mosquitoes to eat the insects carrying the virus. Officials have held meetings and adopted protocols at the national level in a sign of China's determination to eliminate the outbreak and avoid public and international criticism.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Mere Sight of a Sick Person Can Trigger Our Immune System
The mere sight of a sick person may set off an alarm system in your brain and body, even if they are too far away to infect you. A series of experiments using virtual reality headsets has now revealed just how "exquisitely sensitive" our brains are to symptoms of sickness. When participants saw a virtual avatar at varying distances showing clear signs of illness (like a feverish rash), their brains suddenly kicked into gear and their immune systems were put on high alert. When they saw a healthy, neutral-looking avatar, on the other hand, their brains did not show the same activation patterns, and their bloodwork lacked an immediate elevation in immune markers. Related: Some of these markers are known as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). ILCs can spike in the blood when the body is directly exposed to a pathogen, but all it took in this case was the sight of a virtual infection and the mere prospect of exposure. "Together, these data show that ILCs react to infections not only when they are detected in the body but also when they are processed as a potential threat approaching the body," write the international team of authors, led by immunologist Sara Trabanelli from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. When researchers used machine learning to statistically analyze the results of their experiments, they found that the brain's threat-detection activity could largely explain the immune response. After seeing a virtual sick person at a distance, the brains of participants lit up in a unique pattern, which was not seen when the avatar had a fearful expression or a neutral expression. The sick avatars that were furthest away elicited the strongest response from the brain's network. Interestingly, some of these activated areas are the same as those that can be triggered after a flu vaccine is given. The findings suggest that when the brain senses a looming threat, it responds rapidly, triggering activity in brain parts like the hypothalamus, which then communicate with the immune system. This gives the body time to put up a fight. The recent experiments took place among 248 healthy adults in total, and in one of the trials, participants wearing VR were asked to press a button when they felt a touch on their face. When their VR sets featured a virtual sick person, participants pressed the button faster upon feeling the touch than when they saw a neutral or fearful avatar. This suggests that their brains are primed because of the sight of sickness. The anticipation probably evolved as a fight-or-flight response, the researchers suspect, though they caution there's still a lot to resolve, including how perceived infectiousness and disgust interact. "These findings suggest an integrated neuro–immune reaction in humans toward infection threats, not solely following physical contact," conclude the authors. Thanks to our brains for staying vigilant on our behalf. The study was published in Nature Neuroscience. Related News Up to 1 in 5 Americans Think They're Allergic to Penicillin. Most Aren't. The Viral 'Kettlebell Challenge' Could Be Harmful. Do This Instead. The 'Fibermaxxing' Wellness Trend May Pose Health Risks. Here's Why. Solve the daily Crossword
