* ACA is “clearly a big market” – CEO
* See $ 400 million to $ 500 million COVID-19 benefit in 2021
* I have administered 3 million vaccines so far in the U.S. (adds comments from CEO and analyst, details on vaccinations and stock updates)
By Manas Mishra and Caroline Humer
February 16 (Reuters) – CVS Health Corp said on Tuesday that it would again sell individual health plans in the online markets created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare, saying the market had stabilized.
CVS Health’s Aetna insurance unit and other major health insurers, such as UnitedHealth Group Inc, withdrew from these exchanges online in 2017 and 2018, due to financial losses and uncertainties as Republicans attacked the former president’s signature law of the USA, Barack Obama.
More than 11.4 million people signed up for these plans in 2020, which provide government subsidies based on incomprehensible levels.
“We have been studying the individual market for some time now. Some of the solutions have been put in place. Clearly, there is a big market,” said recently appointed CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch in a post-profit conference call.
CVS’s action comes when President Joe Biden told the United States Supreme Court last week that ACA should be maintained and Democrats are considering expanding coverage to more people.
Lynch made the comments during a company conference call in which the company said it expects an adjusted profit between $ 7.39 and $ 7.55 in 2021, against $ 7.50 in 2020.
Analysts had expected earnings of $ 7.54 per share in 2021, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. CVS shares fell 4.7% to $ 70.68 in afternoon trading.
Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel said the stock movement looked exaggerated, given that the financial outlook for 2021 was in line with the company’s previous comments.
COVID-19
CVS said vaccinations and COVID-19 tests would contribute $ 400 million to $ 500 million next year.
The company administered more than three million COVID-19 vaccines in long-term care facilities and is now firing 250,000 shots a week at its pharmacies under a broader federal program.
Vaccines are two-dose regimens that require 15 minutes of observation for each patient on site, adding the potential for additional sales, the company said.
Lynch said he will increase vaccination doses and expand to more pharmacies and states in March or April, if the supply increases as expected. It plans to offer 20 million to 25 million doses per month.
During the conference call, CVS Executive Vice President Alan Lotvin said that, based on conversations with pharmaceutical manufacturers, CVS estimates that about 500 million doses of vaccines will be available by the end of June.
Most vaccines will be from Pfizer Inc / BioNTech SEand Moderna Inc. The US Food and DrugAdministration is currently considering a vaccine from Johnson & Johnson Inc. that can be authorized in a few weeks and Novavax Inc also expects to apply in the coming months from the FDA .
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $ 1.30 per share in the reported quarter, exceeding estimates of $ 1.24 per share. (Reporting by Manas Mishra, Trisha Roy in Bengaluru and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and NickZieminski)