Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 7 december 2017
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UnitedHealth ventures deeper into care with nearly $5B deal

By TOM MURPHY care services business to tors like CVS say they hope But Daniel Klein, the CEO cines first before they get
AP Health Writer several more states. their more involved ap- of Patient Access Network what the doctor wants to
The nation’s biggest health Health insurers and other proach to patient care will Foundation, worries that prescribe.
insurer is spending nearly $5 entities have been push- help people stick to a treat- this trend could foster more “Patients may not have as
billion to buy hundreds of ing deeper into managing ment plan or live healthier treatment restrictions. Klein much choice and provid-
clinics, just three days af- or providing patient care in lives, which could ward off runs a nonprofit that helps ers may not have as much
ter rival Aetna announced order to cut costs and im- expensive complications or insured people with rare, choice in treatments they
a bigger tie up with CVS prove quality, especially for hospital stays. chronic or life-threatening can make available,” he
Health Corp. people with chronic condi- Insurers also want their pa- conditions pay for prescrip- said. Some doctors are
UnitedHealth Group Inc. tions. It’s a trend that pa- tients to use clinics and tion drugs. concerned that the deals
said Wednesday that it will tient advocates and doc- care centers as a way to He’s concerned that more could fuel more fragment-
buy DaVita Medical Group tors are starting to watch reduce the use of expen- patients may see bigger ed care and make it hard-
in a deal that extends the with concern. sive emergency rooms for bills or requirements that er for family physicians to
reach of its Optum health Insurers and clinic opera- care that isn’t dire. they try less effective medi- track patient health.q

Sinking energy stocks pull S&P 500 to fourth straight loss

By STAN CHOE to 6,776.38 and the Russell
AP Business Writer 2000 index of small-cap
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks lost 7.88, or 0.5 per-
stocks took another small cent, to 1,508.88.
step backward on Wednes- Stocks have been mostly
day after a plunge in the drifting lower this week fol-
price of oil dragged down lowing a strong run for mar-
shares of energy produc- kets this year. The ups and
ers. The losses overshad- downs have come as the
owed gains for technology Senate and House of Rep-
companies and other ar- resentatives try to iron out
eas of the market. differences in their propos-
The Standard & Poor’s 500 als to overhaul the tax sys-
index dipped by a fraction tem, and investors shift their
of a point, down 0.30 to portfolios toward compa-
2,629.27, and it’s down just nies that stand to benefit
0.5 percent so far this week. most from lower rates.
But even those modest “It looks like we topped
movements could count out last week and we’ve
as notable in a year that’s been rolling a bit,” said Phil
been unusually calm and Orlando, chief equity mar-
easy for investors. It was the ket strategist at Federated
fourth straight loss for the Investors. “The reality is we Trader Thomas Ferrigno works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 6,
index, the first time that has had a phenomenal run 2017. U.S. stocks held steady in Wednesday morning trading, following sharp drops for markets
happened since March. here, and we looked a little around the world.
The Dow Jones industrial overbought in my mind. So (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
average fell 39.73 points, I wouldn’t at all discount a more than 17 percent for ished reporting how much in earnest for more than a
or 0.2 percent, to 24,140.91, little bit of a correction here the year, is also in a rela- profit they made in the month.
the Nasdaq composite of 2 or 3 percent.” tively quiet period, Orlando summer, and fourth-quar- That can lead to a drifting
rose 14.16, or 0.2 percent, The market, which is still up said. Companies have fin- ter reports won’t start again market.q

Home Depot sticks by outlook,

buys back $15 billion in stocks

NEW YORK (AP) — Home part to rebuilding efforts
Depot is sticking by its out- after a pair of devastating
look for the year and will hurricanes hit Texas and
buy back $15 billion in Florida, and wildfires con-
company shares. sumed entire neighbor-
The Atlanta company is hoods in the West.
laying out its strategy to The company is focusing on
investors Wednesday, with making its online services
CEO Craig Menear saying and sales more connected
that the retail landscape to its brick-and-mortar op-
is changing at an unprec- erations, while improving
edented pace. delivery.
Home Depot expects to The focus comes as Ama-
post annual, per-share zon.com has upended
profits of $7.36, and com- much of the retail sector
parable-store sales growth with free delivery to cus-
of 6.5 percent. tomers who pay for Prime
Sales in the most recent memberships.q
quarter surged, thanks in