Hospital stocks rally after Democrats win Congress, WSJ reports
Hospital and health insurer stocks rose after Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with gains holding over the following week, according to The Wall Street Journal's David Wainer, as reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The Journal attributes the gains partly to expectations that Democrats will try to reverse HR1's Medicaid cuts and restore enhanced ACA subsidies, and to Democratic opposition to the law's curbs on state taxes on hospitals and the Medicaid supplemental payments they fund, with major changes to those arrangements set to begin in 2028. Baird analyst Michael Ha estimates these arrangements account for 15% to 20% of HCA Healthcare's earnings and a larger share of Universal Health Services' earnings. Between Nov. 3 and Nov. 11, Universal Health Services rose 10.6%, Tenet Healthcare 9.32%, HCA Healthcare 8.7%, and Community Health Systems 5.4%, while Ardent Health and Acadia Healthcare posted larger gains tied to third-quarter earnings beats.