Investors are seeing the Senate's version of health care reform as a massive public subsidy for insurance companies -- and as a result, are sending the sector's stock prices shooting up, up, up. Stripped of a government-run insurance plan, the bill would give tens of millions of Americans no option but to start paying hefty premiums to private companies.
The rise in stock prices has been particularly striking in the period since Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said on October 27 that he would filibuster a Senate health care reform bill if it included a public option - a threat that caused Senate leaders to cave without much of a fight.
Here's a quick breakdown of major health insurance company stock performance from Oct. 27 to Friday's market close:
- Coventry Health Care, Inc. is up 31.6 percent;
- CIGNA Corp. is up 29.1 percent;
- Aetna Inc. is up 27.1 percent;
- WellPoint, Inc. is up 26.6 percent;
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. is up 20.5 percent;
- And Humana Inc. is up 13.6 percent. ..
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