UnitedHealth has announced its Q3 results with a tremendous jump of 23 percent.
The largest health insurance company in the United States, UnitedHealth Group Inc. has released a statement of its third quarter 
earnings, and has shown that the strength of its Medicaid and Medicare business growth has led to a boost of 23 percent in its profits.
The report also indicated that the overall medical claims costs appeared to be primarily as predicted.
The health insurance company, which is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, has now increased its forecasts for its full year earnings as a result of the third quarter outcomes. This is very promising to other insurers as well.
UnitedHealth is often the health insurance company that sets the tone for the whole industry.
According to UnitedHealth, upon the completion of the third quarter on September 30, its net income was $1.56 billion, which is the equivalent to $1.50 per share. Comparatively, at the same time last year, the net income was $1.27 billion, which is the same as $1.17 per share. Within that quarter alone, the revenue grew by 8 percent, reaching $27.3 billion.
The insurer has now increased its outlook for 2012 to between $5.20 to $5.25 per share, which is a rise over the original predictions which had been $4.90 to $5 until this most recent quarter’s reports were revealed. The shares for the company increased 12 cents to $57.61 in the middle of the day on Tuesday, when the results were first released.
This health insurance company is the largest in the United States and has approximately 36.5 million plan members. As is the case with much of its competition, much of the growth that it is experiencing is credited to the healthcare program reforms that have been made on a federal level. It stated, for example, that over the last year, its Medicare Advantage customers have grown by 400,000 through acquisitions and internal growth. Similarly, the enrollment in Medicaid increased by approximately 385,000.
However, UnitedHealth has also stated that it is looking outside of the American marketplace for its new health insurance customers. It has already agreed to acquire the majority of the largest healthcare company in Brazil, after making a purchase of 90 percent of that organization for around $4.3 billion.
