(Bloomberg) — UnitedHealth Group Inc., the biggest U.S. health insurer, raised its full-year forecast after saying that profit gained in the second quarter, helped by its booming Optum technology and services unit.
Second-quarter net income climbed to $1.59 billion, or $1.64 a share, from $1.41 billion, or $1.42 a share, a year earlier, UnitedHealth said Thursday in a statement. That beat the average analyst estimate of $1.58 a share.
Medical costs hurt the company, however, and UnitedHealth shares fell 1.5 percent at 9:52 a.m. in New York. UnitedHealth spent 81.4 cents of every premium dollar on patient care in the second quarter, a measure known as the medical loss ratio, compared with 81.6 cents a year earlier. That's higher than some investors anticipated, said Brian Wright, an analyst with Stern Agee & Leach Inc.
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