Health Insurer Shares Sink as Medicare Holds Firm Line on Rates

The Medicare payment decision that rocked health insurer stocks Tuesday sets up a high-stakes election year gamble for the Biden administration as seniors could end up seeing cutbacks in their health plans right before Election Day.

President Joe Biden’s administration held firm on proposed Medicare Advantage rates Monday, a break with recent practice that means health insurers are now facing lower payments than they’d anticipated for 2025. As a result, insurers may recalibrate the benefits they offer and the prices they charge for Medicare Advantage plans that cover 31.6 million seniors and people with disabilities. The 2025 plans will ...