Health insurer Aetna Inc said it was able to hold down costs by directing more of its plans to U.S. medical providers that focus on efficient care, helping it beat quarterly profit expectations and raise its earning forecast for the year.The third-largest U.S. health insurer is on the frontlines of a national healthcare overhaul that will be largely in place in 2014.Aetna said that next year it will shift even more of its commercial and Medicare business to these groups, known as accountable care organizations, which are offered incentives to improve the quality of care while lowering costs. Medicare is the government health plan for older Americans.The shift should help it weather government efforts to rein in reimbursement for Medicare and the Medicaid program for the poor, as well as expected fees and taxes on the industry down the road, the company said.
Aetna Inc. (Aetna) is a diversified healthcare benefits company. Shares of AET traded higher by 0.96% or $0.42/share to $44.37. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $34.58 and as high as $51.14. On average, 4571990 shares of AET exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2143154.
Source
