Aetna Inc. will become the latest insurer to tell investors whether health care use is picking up when it reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.
What to watch for: Insurers have been helped the past several quarters by health care use that has climbed at rates that were lower than expected when they set premiums. Many say the trend is driven by a pullback in consumer spending, and analysts expect it to continue into 2012, but there are some signs this is slowly changing.
Aetna competitor WellPoint Inc. said last week use rose in the fourth quarter but remained lower than normal, and trends were affected more by the cost of care than the number of people receiving it. In other words, the insurer saw bigger hospital bills from more acute cases rather than more people heading to the hospital.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical BenefitsPRO information including cutting edge post-reform success strategies, access to educational webcasts and videos, resources from industry leaders, and informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM, BenefitsPRO magazine and BenefitsPRO.com events
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including ThinkAdvisor.com and Law.com
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
