Nov 7, 2012 4:18 PM ET – HCA Holdings Inc. and other hospitals will get more paying customers while insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc. will see profits squeezed as President Barack Obama moves to preserve the health care overhaul he championed.
Obama’s re-election rallied shares of HCA Holdings Inc., the largest for-profit hospital company, by 9.4% Wednesday, while Community Health Systems Inc. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. also gained on prospects for millions of newly insured patients being added to their admission rolls. UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. medical insurer, fell 3.8%, and WellPoint Inc. and Humana Inc. declined as the industry faces profit limits and new taxes to help pay for the coverage expansion.
