NEW YORK (Reuters) - Insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc posted better-than-expected second-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by growth in its plans for elderly and low-income Americans.
The largest U.S. health insurer by market value also raised the low end of its 2009 earnings forecast.
Net income rose to $859 million, or 73 cents per share, from $337 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier, when the company took a big charge for a legal settlement.
Analysts on average expected 70 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose 6.8 percent to $21.7 billion.
Revenue in the company's Ovations unit serving seniors rose 13 percent to $8 billion. Enrollment in its Medicare Advantage plans jumped nearly 20 percent to 1.74 million.
At its unit serving Medicaid plans for low-income Americans, revenue shot up 45 percent to $2 billion, spurred by strong enrollment gains.
UnitedHealth spent 83.6 percent of its premiums on medical costs, up from 83.2 percent a year earlier, but within company expectations. Wall Street closely watches the ratio to gauge overall profitability.
The Minneapolis-based company forecast 2009 earnings of $3 to $3.15 per share, lifting the low end of its range by 10 cents.
UnitedHealth said on Monday that it would acquire the northeast U.S. operations of Health Net Inc
UnitedHealth is the first health insurer to report second-quarter results, although Congress' efforts to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system may overshadow the industry's earnings season.
(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
