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UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, and said it expects strong sales of its government health plans this year. The company also reported solid sales growth in its pharmacy benefits business. (Maddipatla, 1/15)

Growing Medicare Advantage coverage and fat profits from UnitedHealth’s Optum business, which strays beyond the company’s health insurance core, contributed to better-than-expected earnings in the quarter. Revenue grew 4% to $60.9 billion, just shy of analyst projections for $60.96 billion, according to FactSet. The insurer, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, normally tops Wall Street expectations for earnings and revenue every quarter. (Murphy, 1/15)

“We finished the year encouraged by continued performance improvement in Medicaid, early market interest in our new innovative line of employer-sponsored benefit offerings and 2020 individual Medicare Advantage annual enrollment results, which were our strongest ever,” UnitedHealth Group chief executive David Wichmann, told analysts Wednesday morning on the company’s earnings call. “Within our Medicare Advantage offerings, including dual eligible growth, we expect to serve 700,000 more people in 2020, nearer to the upper-end of the range of performance offered at the (December) investor conference.” (Japsen, 1/15)

UnitedHealth’s results will likely reassure managed-care investors that medical costs aren’t seeing a big uptick due to strong flu activity. The medical loss ratio—the percentage of premium revenue spent on health care—at its insurance unit was 82.5%, lower than analysts had expected. On a call with analysts, UnitedHealth said flu had a “very modest impact” on its fourth-quarter insurance results, with some increase in outpatient care but inpatient activity close to normal. (Barba, 1/15)

Medicare Advantage, the privatized alternative to the traditional federal insurance program for seniors, has been a boon to health insurers' bottom lines in recent years. That trend shows no signs of slowing in 2020, if UnitedHealth Group's projections are any indication. David Wichmann, CEO of UnitedHealth, the parent company of the nation's largest health insurer UnitedHealthcare, said Wednesday that the latest Medicare Advantage open enrollment period was its "strongest ever." The company expects to serve nearly 700,000 more individual Medicare Advantage members in 2020. Last year, it grew enrollment in the individual and group Advantage businesses by 325,000 to 5.3 million compared with 2018. (Livingston, 1/15)

Health-care investors don’t have to fear Medicare for All. U.S. health insurers’ stocks are trading near all-time highs, but the looming 2020 election has resulted in some volatile trading: The sector sold off on Monday after an influential poll released last week showed Sen. Bernie Sanders gaining ground among Iowa caucus-goers. (Grant, 1/15)