Techquity
Technology Investor, Fundamental Research
UnitedHealth's model is a conflict of interest, since it owns both the insurer and the doctors and data, which makes it too dark to own. It has been accused of using algorithms to systematically deny care to the elderly and sick to lift profits; as both the largest US employer of doctors and an insurer, the patient loses. The assassination of its CEO showed deep hostility toward that system. A moat built on denying care is not worth owning. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's debt has to come down to a manageable $20-30B, which would also cut interest expense, and the institutions, TV contributors and big retail accounts pumping it like the next Nvidia are ignoring that. Health insurance is not going away, but the numbers matter more than the hype. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's regulatory risk looks too excessive to justify holding it at its valuation, and owning it in the first place was a mistake. x.comÂ
Healthcare is the clearest place money is moving, and UnitedHealth is the preferred name here. It beat earnings and raised its 2026 profit forecast. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's rebound still has a Medicaid problem because care costs are outpacing state funding. Q3 operating profit rose to $6.6bn from $4.3bn a year earlier, but Medicaid is still expected to lose money in 2026. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth is exposed as health insurance costs become unaffordable for employers: an industry that lives by price gouging will die by it. US employers face the largest health insurance cost hike since the Affordable Care Act began, with a 25% rise expected in 2027 after a massive drop in exchange enrollment. Employer-based health plans now look set to go the way of pensions and become extinct. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth remains essential to the US economy and still provides the best pay-and-collect mechanism for doctors and hospitals in the country. Per CNBC, its first-quarter adjusted EPS of $7.23 beat expectations of $6.57, and it raised its full-year earnings outlook. x.comÂ
US healthcare and biotech stocks are coming under distribution as the attack on healthcare returns. Per Dr Alex Kenton, the No Surprises Act has knocked millions of people off insurance rolls, hurting hospitals, and a new Justice Department investigation targets Cigna, UnitedHealth and CVS over allegedly using Claritev to fix prices. x.comÂ
Elevance Health offers deeper value and better growth than UnitedHealth, Centene and similar insurers, trading at about half UnitedHealth's P/E. It is not a sexy trade. MarketSurge picked up a cup breakout with 28% depth, giving a target of 490-500. x.comÂ
UnitedHealth's insurance model beats hospital operators like HCA because insurers get paid while hospitals see a good chunk of bills never paid or heavily reduced. Members must pay premiums to keep their benefits, and insurers don't pay claims until any deductible is met. That makes UnitedHealth attractive and HCA, along with the REITs that own hospitals, unattractive. x.comÂ
Elevance Health looks primed for massive employee cost removal, and its health-insurer peers probably are too. x.comÂ
