Record Flu Season May Be Boon for Hospitals, Bane for Insurers
Record Flu Season May Be Boon for Hospitals, Bane for Insurers
(Bloomberg) -- The worsening flu season may spell good news for hospitals that take in sick patients and bad news for health insurers that have to pick up the tab, Evercore ISI said.
The end of 2019 brought another upswing in doctor visits from patients with flu-like symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the last week of December, 6.9% of patient visits were due to influenza-like illness, up from 5.1% in the prior week. That’s worse than most recent years and not far behind the record 2017-2018 season, Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel told clients in a note.
Newshel said when taking into account each company’s state footprint, the early flu season is above the national average for hospital operators Community Health Systems Inc., HCA Healthcare Inc., Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Universal Health Services Inc. Among insurers, Cigna Corp., Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. are experiencing an above-average flu season, along with real estate investment trust Healthpeak Properties Inc., he wrote.
To be sure, there’s a 40% chance the flu season may have already reached it peak, according to the CDC’s flu forecasting tool. It’s also worth noting that in recent years, insurers “have absorbed recent severe flu seasons without significant earnings impacts,” while the positive revenue impact for hospitals may be muted by the less costly needs of a flu patient, according to Newshel.
To contact the reporter on this story: Cristin Flanagan in New York at cflanagan1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net
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