Â鶹ŮÓÅ

U.S. health insurers that waged a campaign against Obamacare hit an all-time high on the stock market Wednesday after UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it would add hundreds of thousands of new customers because of the law. (Armstrong and Bloomfield, 1/21)

UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer, on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as it added new customers in government-paid plans and its Optum pharmacy management business hit record revenue. Profit in its health insurance business, which includes commercial and government customers, was helped by medical costs that the company described as being "well controlled," and decreased inpatient hospital use per person in 2014. (1/21)

UnitedHealth, like its fellow health insurers, has sought to contain costs related to medical care, particularly as expensive, high-profile treatments for hepatitis C and cancer enter the market. Meanwhile, the company has benefited from growth in its government-sponsored plans as well as its health-services arm. (Wilde Mathews and Calia, 1/21)

The Minneapolis-based insurer said Wednesday that it expects stronger enrollment growth from Medicare Advantage plans, a key product that had been pinched by funding cuts in recent years. It also has already gained more than 400,000 customers through its expanded presence on the health care overhaul’s public insurance exchanges, and operating earnings from its Optum segment, which runs several businesses outside health insurance, climbed more than 50 percent. (1/21)

Shares of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. closed at a record high Wednesday after a better-than-expected earnings report and an upbeat commentary for growth in 2015. The nation’s largest health insurer reported promising enrollment trends during the fourth quarter, particularly in government programs, and only moderate growth in medical costs. (Snowbeck, 1/21)