Nov 4 (Reuters) - Shares of Medicaid-focused US health insurers and hospital operators rose in early trading on Wednesday as Democrats' sweep of the Senate and House of Representatives in the midterm elections fueled hopes of sector-friendly policy changes.
Centene shares climbed over 8% to $73.12, Elevance Health about 3% to $4 and Molina Healthcare about 6% to $220.99. Hospital stocks, such as HCA Healthcare, Tenet Healthcare and Universal Health Services gained between 6% and 8%.
Analysts said the
Democratic win could delay implementation of parts of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) that are expected to reduce Medicaid enrollment and constrain certain state healthcare payments, easing pressure on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurers and hospital operators.
They also said the election outcome could improve the prospects for extending enhanced subsidies, supporting enrollment in the Affordable Care Act plans.
The Affordable Care Act, created by President Barack Obama and often called Obamacare, offers subsidies based on income. Expiration of enhanced COVID-era premium tax credits at the beginning of the year contributed to sharp cost increases, causing millions to drop out.
For hospitals, delays to OBBBA provisions could ease expected enrollment losses, Bernstein analysts said, adding that planned cuts to state-directed payments could be delayed and ultimately avoided.
J.P. Morgan analysts, however, said that any major healthcare policy changes remain unlikely, as Trump's power to veto Democratic bills would likely lead to legislative gridlock than sweeping reforms.
Meanwhile, Jefferies analysts noted that Trump's comments signaling a willingness to work with a Democratic-controlled Congress "opens the door to some of the Democrats' legislative actions/agenda coming to fruition".
Including session gains, Centene shares were up about 64% year-to-date, and those of Elevance and Molina gained about 18% and 20%, respectively. Among hospital operators, Universal Health Services was down about 13% so far this year, while Tenet Healthcare and HCA were up about 41% and 6%, respectively.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
