Health Insurers Rally After Bernie Sanders Wins New Hampshire

(Bloomberg) -- Managed care is leading gains in the health-care sector after Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary for the Democratic nomination for president.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but investors have been shaking off worries about the self-avowed democratic socialist and his progressive politics and are becoming increasingly convinced that Donald Trump will be able to beat Sanders.

Health insurers would be particularly vulnerable to a Sanders presidency, given his support for a single payer health-care system dubbed Medicare for All.

Centene Corp., Humana Inc., Anthem Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. all advanced more than 4% on Wednesday, spurring a seven-member index of S&P managed care companies to an intraday record.

Concern about an attack on the pharmaceutical industry and the high cost of prescription medicines from the Trump administration may also be easing after the President’s latest budget, released this week, back-pedaled on more specific proposals from years past.

The $21 billion Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund, known by its ticker XLV, rose for the third day in a row.

“Based on numerous conversations pertaining to the primary’s impact on the health-care sector, the Street actually seems fairly comfortable with the current state of affairs including success out of more progressive candidates including Senator Sanders,” said Jared Holz, a Jefferies health-care strategist.

(Updates stock moves throughout)

To contact the reporter on this story: Cristin Flanagan in New York at cflanagan1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Catherine Larkin at clarkin4@bloomberg.net, Scott Schnipper, Steven Fromm

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