Health insurers will step off the roller coaster in 2025
Healthcare DIVE January 8, 2025
After a turbulent year, things should calm for payers with the advent of a business-friendly Trump administration — though challenges will persist.
Health insurers had a tumultuous 2024. The industry was buffeted by sweeping policy changes that pressured reimbursement, while higher medical utilization drove costs up. And by year’s end, payers found themselves engulfed in a firestorm of public anger over controversial business practices.
The challenges slammed insurers’ value on Wall Street. Stocks in managed care companies significantly underperformed the rest of the market last year, falling about 13% compared to 23% growth for the S&P 500.
But things are looking up for payers in 2025, according to experts. The policy backdrop should improve with the advent of President-elect Donald...