Health Care Inc.: Medicare insurers sue, Medicaid firms prosper

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What a difference a week makesHeading into last week, things were looking downright bleak for the country’s biggest health insurers. Stocks had tanked on the news that Elevance was spending more than expected on care for its Medicaid members.

The clouds parted last Thursday, when Molina, an insurer with almost 5 million Medicaid members, said its higher Medicaid spending was partially offset by the fact that several states had already boosted their Medicaid payments, tweaks that carry an extra $350 million in the second half of this year. CEO Joe Zubretsky said “states truly have recognized that components of their program were underfunded.”