Latest news with #Fort Worth
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Humana loses bid to challenge downgrade to US Medicare 'star' ratings
July 18 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Friday tossed a lawsuit brought by Humana (HUM.N), opens new tab that challenged the U.S. government's reduction in the health insurer's star ratings for government-backed Medicare plans. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, dismissed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after finding that Humana had failed to exhaust all of its out-of-court options to challenge the ratings. Humana had alleged in its complaint that the lower ratings could cause it to lose customers and potentially billions in bonus payments from the government, which would have been used to reduce premiums and increase benefits for its members. Shares of Humana were down about 3.4% lower in early afternoon trading. Shares of other insurers, including UnitedHealth (UNH.N), opens new tab and Centene (CNC.N), opens new tab, were also down between 1.5% and 3.5%. As of Friday, Humana had finished the administrative appeals process and would explore all available legal options, including either an appeal of the ruling or a refiling of the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement. A representative for HHS said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Despite the negative share reaction, analysts said the decision was widely expected. Mizuho analysts viewed the ruling as priced into Humana's 2026 earnings estimates and in line with the long-term growth forecast the company shared last month. Humana is one of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S., which are funded by the Medicare health insurance program for seniors and some disabled people but administered by private insurers. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is part of HHS, issues star ratings for the plans, from one to five stars, to help beneficiaries choose. Plans with higher star ratings receive higher payments from the government if they keep costs below certain targets. Those bonus payments can be worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. Humana sued HHS in November, after CMS finalized and released the 2025 star ratings. The lawsuit challenged the way the ratings were calculated and asked for an order directing CMS to set aside Humana's 2025 ratings and recalculate them. As part of its ratings calculations, CMS uses test calls to an insurer's customer service numbers to check compliance. In its lawsuit, Humana claimed CMS improperly lowered the star ratings for at least a dozen of its largest plans based on just three such calls, two of which were disconnected because of internet connectivity problems. In dismissing the lawsuit, the judge in Texas said federal law requires insurers like Humana to seek reconsideration of their ratings through an administrative process at HHS before filing a lawsuit. Humana had sued before that process was complete, he said. The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning the claims could be filed again.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MP Materials (MP) Soars to All-Time High After Clinching $500-Million Deal with Apple
We recently published . MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) is one of Tuesday's top performers. MP Materials rallied for a second day on Tuesday to hit a new all-time high after clinching a $500-million deal with technology giant Apple Inc. At intra-day trading, MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) soared to a new 52-week high of $62.87 before paring gains to end the day at $58.22 apiece, or 20 percent higher than the previous day's close. In a statement on the same day, Apple pledged to purchase US-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials Corp.'s (NYSE:MP) flagship Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas, and that it would work with MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) to build out the state-of-the-art Texas factory with a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. The new equipment and technical capacity will allow MP Materials to significantly boost its overall production. Heavy machinery at work in a mining facility, excavating the earth for rare earth minerals. Once built, the produced magnets will be shipped across the country and all over the world. Apple said the partnership forms part of its $500-billion expansion plan in the US over the next four years. While we acknowledge the potential of MP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
TechCrunch
5 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Apple commits $500M to U.S.-based rare earth recycling firm MP Materials
Apple is investing $500 million in MP Materials, the only fully integrated rare earth mining company currently operating in the United States, as part of a broader effort to strengthen the domestic rare earth supply chain. The tech giant announced on Tuesday that with this deal, it's committed to buying American-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials' flagship facility in Fort Worth, Texas. The factory will develop a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. Apple says that once the American-made magnets are built, they will be shipped across the country and all over the world to help address increasing global demand for the material. The two companies will also collaborate to establish a rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California. The facility will allow MP Materials to process recycled rare earth feedstock, including materials from used electronics and post-industrial scrap, and reuse it in Apple products. In addition, the companies will work together to develop novel magnet materials and processing technologies to enhance magnet performance. Apple says the commitment announced on Tuesday is part of its pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. The tech giant first used recycled rare earth elements in the Taptic Engine of iPhone 11 in 2019. Today, almost all magnets across its devices are made with 100 percent recycled rare earth elements.
