“Clearly the focus is Medicare, including what their outlook is going to be for enrollment in 2006. The driver in the fourth quarter was principally what they spent getting ready for the Medicare opportunity in 2006.”
“My sense heading into the quarter was the market expected Humana to raise guidance today. I think they ultimately do raise guidance for 2006, but given that they didn't today, I think that will be viewed as a disappointment.”
“Humana's commercial business performed reasonably well this quarter, in part due to lower inpatient utilization trends, which also positively impacted the company's government operations. We think cost trends continue to decelerate in 2006, in part driven by slowing pharmacy costs.”
“This is the second quarter in a row that Cigna has grown enrollment, and provides further evidence that the turnaround at Cigna is progressing smoothly.”
