Health insurer Centene eases investor fears with better-than-expected profit
Company maintains annual profit forecast despite higher medical costs
Analysts surprised by better-than-expected quarter amid Medicaid pressure
Centene shares jump nearly 12% after earnings beat
Adds details from company's conference call in paragraphs 5 and 6, updates shares in paragraph 2
By Sriparna Roy and Unnamalai L
Oct 25 (Reuters) -Centene CNC.N beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter earnings on strength in its commercial health insurance plans and maintained its annual profit forecast, easing investor fears after dour targets from rivals last week.
Shares of the health insurer jumped nearly 12% to $68.92 in early trading on Friday. They fell 16% in the last week after rivals Elevance ELV.N and UnitedHealth UNH.N warned of high costs in government-backed insurance plans.
Costs for insurers providing Medicaid plans have been elevated after a federal policy that required insurers to keep low-income Americans enrolled in health plans during the COVID-19 pandemic ended last year, and left the insurers with more sick patients.
The quarter was "much better than expected", said Baird analyst Michael Ha, adding that it was a "surprise" after peers reported "unprecedented levels" of Medicaid pressure last week.
Centene said it expects costs to ease next year as the 'mismatch' between what states pay insurers to cover Medicaid members and the amount the insurers spend on care for the members minimizes.
It is "not a matter of if, but when, we get back to equilibrium", CFO Drew Asher said in a call with analysts.
For the full year, Centene expects a medical loss ratio — the percentage of premiums spent on medical care — of 88.3% to 88.5%, compared with analysts' average estimate of 87.93%, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It reported a ratio of 89.2% for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts had expected 88.03%.
Despite higher costs, the company maintained its annual profit forecast of greater than $6.80 per share, compared with analysts' expectation of $6.73.
Investors had been preparing for a potential cut to Centene forecast, said Stephens analyst Scott Fidel.
Centene reported quarterly profit of $1.62 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $1.33.
Persistant high costs have weighed on health insurer stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3YCKpLu
Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York City, Sriparna Roy and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shinjini Ganguli
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