UnitedHealth slips as CFO warns of higher expenses, sending peers lower By

-- UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:) shares dropped in premarket U.S. trading on BrokerageWednesday after Chief Financial Officer John Rex warned that a recent increase in elective surgeries by older adults may lift costs.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference, Rex said this trend could push the group's medical care cost ratio -- a measure of the amount it spends on claims as opposed to the premiums it pockets -- toward the upper range of its full-year forecast in the second quarter.

According to FactSet data, analysts expect the company's medical cost ratio to be at 82.6% for the three-month period, up from 82.2% in the prior quarter.

“We believe the comments are likely to weigh on the entire group,” analysts at Oppenheimer said in a note.

Other health insurers, including Aetna-owner CVS Health Corp (NYSE:), (NYSE:) and Elevance Health Inc (NYSE:), were all dragged lower in the wake of the comments. The firms had been boosted by the delay of non-urgent surgeries like hip and knee replacements during the pandemic.

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