Following the nomination, announced Nov. 19, shares of managed-care companies like UnitedHealth Group and Humana rose on Nov. 20, while hospital-focused stocks such as Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare saw slight declines.
Dr. Oz, known as a television personality and professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia University, has been a vocal supporter of Medicare Advantage. He has previously backed expanding the program to all Americans through a “Medicare Advantage for All” model.
The WSJ noted that Dr. Oz’s nomination also comes as Medicare insurers have faced rising medical costs and tighter regulatory policies, and some investors may be optimistic that Dr. Oz could ease these policies or avoid further constraints.
Amid this background, Humana‘s shares climbed 5.8%, closing at $293.97, while UnitedHealth Group shares rose 4.1%, closing at $600.50. Medicaid-focused companies like Molina Healthcare and Centene also saw gains of 4.3% and 2.2%, respectively.
Conversely, hospital investors faced declines. Tenet‘s shares fell 1%, closing at $151.84, while HCA‘s shares slipped 0.6%, closing at $333.
Meanwhile, hospitals and health systems across the U.S. have been dropping Medicare Advantage contracts, citing challenges such as administrative burdens, high prior authorization denial rates, and slow insurer payments.
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