Some health insurers rack up gains as equities plunge

Shares of some health insurers rise and set to notch weekly gains, bucking selloff in global equities as trade war worries escalate .N

The U.S. Senate on Thurs confirmed Dr. Mehmet Oz, celebrity TV physician nominated by President Donald Trump, as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

CMS runs Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people aged 65 or older and the disabled and oversees Medicaid, the state-based health insurance program for low-income people, which is jointly funded by states and the federal government

Oz has been a vocal proponent of Medicare Advantage and promoted it on his syndicated TV show, which aired from 2009 to 2022

Shares of UnitedHealth UNH.N up 0.7% on Fri, following >3% advance on Thurs, on track for weekly advance >5%

Molina Healthcare MOH.N and Centene CNC.N both off ~1% on the session, but on course to finish week up ~8% and ~6%, respectively

Shares of Humana HUM.N edges up on Fri and heading for fractional weekly gain, while CVS Health CVS.N slides ~3% on the session and down 2% this week

With moves on Fri, UNH up ~8%, MOH up ~20%, CNC up ~5%, HUM up 5%, CVS up 46%