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Telegraph
41 minutes ago
- Telegraph
This stock could thrive under Trump's healthcare upheaval
Questor is The Telegraph's stock-picking column, helping you decode the markets and offering insights on where to invest The American healthcare sector has become a perilous place for hospitals, insurers and prospective patients and claimants alike. Despite fierce protestations by the White House to the contrary, President Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' – now an act – looks set to unleash big cuts to both Medicaid and Medicare, the US's safety-net healthcare and insurance programmes for worse-off and vulnerable Americans. According to the Congressional Budget Office, an independent body, funding for Medicaid will be cut by around $1tn (£750bn) dollars over the next decade, leaving at least 10.5 million people without health insurance by 2034. Tightening the criteria for Medicare, the primary insurance for Americans aged 65 and over, will trigger $490bn of cuts to the programme between 2027 and 2034, the same body has estimated. Amid much dissembling on both sides, the full implications of Trump's voluminous act have yet to emerge, but what is clear is that US insurers and h ealthcare providers will be among those bracing for a turbulent period ahead. There are some businesses, however, that look as if they might avoid the worst, whether by accident or design. Among them is Cigna Group, a US health insurer that specialises in employer-backed cover and schemes for US government employees (it also has a small international arm). Cigna does provide coverage under Medicare, but it has recently dramatically reduced its exposure through last year's sale of its dedicated business to the Health Care Service Corporation for $3.3bn. Meanwhile, after persistent reports that it was sizing up the potential acquisition of Humana, a competitor with a substantial Medicare business, late last year the group told shareholders it wasn't interested in pursuing a deal. Both the company and its investors may now feel relieved. Cigna's share register contains some of the world's most successful investors. A total of 15 of the best-performing fund managers globally hold shares, each of them in the top-performing 3pc of more than 10,000 tracked by financial publisher Citywire. The company is rated AAA by Citywire Elite Companies, which rates businesses based on top investors' conviction. At the start of July, the company joined Citywire's Global Elite Companies index, which is home to 76 very best ideas from about 6,000 stocks held across the portfolios of the elite manages the financial publisher tracks. The shares are available through the UK's main stockbrokers, although prospective buyers should be sure to fill in the forms minimising withholding taxes and check with their provider for any additional dealing charges. Given the uncertainties of the US healthcare market under Trump, Cigna is clearly something of a contrarian bet, but the company does have several qualities that offer reassurance. Growth over the past five years has been impressive, driven in large part by its pharmacy-focused division Evernorth Health Services. Last year's group revenues of $247bn were 27pc ahead of the previous year, and 60pc better than in 2019. Operating profits of $9.4bn were 10.3pc up on 2023, and nearly 17pc higher than five years ago. In May, the group nudged up guidance on full-year adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to $29.60, which compares with $27.33 achieved last year. Cigna is also briefing shareholders that it expects to generate cashflows of around $60bn over the next five years. Some of this will be used to fund growth, but the majority will go into shoring up the dividend and share buyback programmes, as well as repaying debts and pursuing strategic acquisitions. Second quarter results last week were ahead of expectations, but such is the mood of investors that news Cigna expects costs to remain elevated this year prompted a sharp sell off. While the dividend yield on Cigna shares, at 2.6pc this year, is relatively modest, at the end of 2023, it increased its planned stock buyback scheme by $10bn. Based on payouts last year, the stock's total shareholder yield (the combination of dividends and net buybacks) stands at nearly 9pc. The uncertainty about the outlook is reflected in Cigna's shares' valuation. They trade on a multiple of just over eight times this year's forecast earnings, which is modest by historic standards. In short, while the US healthcare market is clearly an uncertain place, this company has significant attractions protecting it from any coming storm. Update: UnitedHealth Sometimes it's best to acknowledge your mistakes and move on, and Questor has decided to throw in the towel with UnitedHealth, the US health insurer it tipped in the middle of last year. A profit warning has left the shares more than 40pc below their level back then and its uncertain markets mean it's time to retreat.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Tourist's life-changing injuries after swimming in filthy hotel pool and contracting horrific infection
A woman endured a horrific infection and agonizing injuries after she swam in a hotel's indoor pool that her lawyers say wasn't treated with chlorine. Alexis Williams, 23, was staying at the Residence Inn Downtown Ann Arbor Hotel in Michigan in June while visiting her grandmother, who was having a procedure at a nearby medical center. She decided to take a swim in the hotel's pool with her cousins, who soon became violently ill and started vomiting. Williams scraped her knee while she was swimming and contracted a rare infection called MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is caused by staph bacteria and is resistant to most antibiotics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Within hours of swimming in the pool, Williams was overcome with severe pain and couldn't even walk, she recalled to local news. 'It was outrageous,' she told local Fox affiliate, Fox 2 Detroit. 'The pain was excruciating. I had to get poked a lot with a whole bunch of needles, and being prescribed medications I never thought I'd be prescribed to.' Williams told local news that doctors said they may have to amputate her leg if they can't get the infection under control Williams had three surgeries on her leg and remains on strong IV antibiotics, according to her lawyer, Ven Johnson. She now has to constantly receive medication through intravenous therapy and needs a walker. Williams even feared that her leg would have to be amputated. 'I've gone through a lot of pain and suffering, and still currently am,' she told the Detroit Free Press. 'I'm very frightened, very nervous and just appalled by everything.' Williams' lawyers obtained records from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy that revealed the heinous conditions of the hotel's pool. Her lawyers said inspections of the swimming pool on June 12, June 27, and July 8 showed no chlorine or bromine in the water. The civil complaint argues that 'the hotel knew that its swimming pool had a Standard Plate Count that exceeded 200 CFU/ml, which indicates a dangerous level of bacteria present in the swimming pool and poor disinfection.' Williams' lawyers believe that the hotel knew the pool didn't have these chemicals and had improper pH levels. Her legal team accused the hotel of disregarding public safety and creating an unsafe environment for guests. 'Alexis started developing this infection within several hours of coming into contact with this water,' Michael Freifeld, an attorney with Williams' legal team, told the Detroit Free Press. Williams' legal team alleges that the hotel's pool didn't have chlorine or bromine in the water, creating an unsafe situation for guests 'We have no doubt, given the records we have and the experts that we are going to hire, that the infection Alexis experienced, and is experiencing, was clearly connected to the pool.' Johnson added that Williams still has a long way ahead of her, and doctors said they may have to amputate if the infection isn't under control. 'For anybody, let alone a 23-year-old young person, it's a very scary, uncertain prognosis,' Johnson said. The lawsuit is seeking $25,000 in damages. Daily Mail reached out to First Martin Corporation, which owns the Residence Inn for comment on the accusations.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Gonorrhoea vaccine becomes available at sexual health clinics in England
A vaccine for gonorrhoea is now available at sexual health clinics in England as part of a world-first scheme. The vaccination programme is expected to save the NHS £7.9 million over the next decade and combat increasing levels of antibiotic-resistant strains of the disease. The move aims to tackle rising levels of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) after cases in England topped 85,000 in 2023, the highest since records began in 1918. The free jab will be on offer from Monday to patients at the highest risk of the sexually transmitted infection, including gay and bisexual men with a recent history of multiple sexual partners or a bacterial STI. The vaccine is an existing jab, known as 4CMenB, that is currently used to protect people against the meningococcal B disease, a serious bacterial infection that can cause meningitis and sepsis. It is used in the routine childhood programme and given to babies at eight weeks, 16 weeks and one year. The programme is targeted to those most at risk and could prevent up to 100,000 cases. Gonorrhoea disproportionately impacts specific communities, such as those in deprived areas, people of black Caribbean ethnicity, and gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, according to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Patients getting the gonorrhoea vaccine will also be offered jabs for mpox, human papillomavirus (HPV), and hepatitis A and B at their appointment. Ashley Dalton, the minister for public health and prevention, said: 'Rolling out this world-leading gonorrhoea vaccination programme in sexual health clinics in England represents a major breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels. 'This government's world-first vaccination programme will help turn the tide on infections, as well as tackling head-on the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. 'I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination, to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners.'
