UnitedHealth Group posted more than $ 6.6 billion in second-quarter earnings, by far the conglomerate’s highest quarterly profit, according to an analysis of financial data from the FactSet company.
Because it is important: Most companies struggled in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic froze the economy, but health insurers like UnitedHealth benefited enormously because people did not go to the doctor or hospital, resulting in fewer medical claims. that had to be paid.
The panorama: The jump in earnings beat Wall Street’s predictions, and was strongly driven by UnitedHealth’s insurance division.
- The second-quarter operating margin for UnitedHealthcare was 14.3% versus 6.8% for Optum, which is the division of the company that manages medical offices, technology, consulting and pharmacy benefits.
Getting closer: UnitedHealth’s “medical loss ratio” for the quarter was 70.2% compared to 83.1% during the same period last year, meaning UnitedHealth paid just 70 cents in medical claims for every dollar it received in premiums.
Yes, but: The company expects that proportion to increase later this year as more people receive the care they delayed. UnitedHealth also said that some of its business employers reduced coverage for workers due to the pandemic, which affected their earnings.
Go deeper: UnitedHealth’s political and financial weight continues to grow
.
