King v. Burwell: Health Insurers Rally
Health insurers’ shares enjoyed a nice rally today, as the Supreme Court endorsed the tax credits they receive via Obamacare exchanges. On a day when the S&P inched up 0.30 percent, health plans jumped:
Aetna – 3.99 percent
UnitedHealth Group – 2.65 percent
Cigna – 2.43 percent
Humana – 7.13 percent
Anthem – 1.41 percent.
I believe this is due to buy offers from Anthem for Cigna and UHC for Humana and not this ruling…
The information you cite has been public for many days now. It cannot explain yesterday’s action.
Based on public info at this time, I don’t see how you separate the two. E.g., what if it’s the ruling that confirms the advantages of scale thus making mergers more likely?
The health insurer M&A activity is another part of the hidden, insidious consequences of Obamacare that will eventually lead the country to only a few monopolistic healthcare entirties covering all US lives. This takes the U.S. one step closer to single payer system that Obama and Clinton have professed an affinity for. Their will be Mediciad for the poor, Medicare for the elderly, Tricare for the military and then maybe Aetna and United Healthcare covering pretty much everyone else. Since insurers that contract with Mcaid, Mcare, and Tricare are essentially govt controlled entities, the remaining few national health insures with Obamacare patients will become Govt Sponsored Enterprises like Fannie and Freddie. And, voila, there you have socialized medicine in one generation without the masses even realizing it. C’est magnifique, just ask the French.