July 14 (Reuters) – HCA Healthcare lowered its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, weighed by an increase in the number of uninsured patients, primarily of those who lost coverage under the so-called “Obamacare” plans.
Shares of HCA fell nearly 10% in premarket trading.
As subsidies under Affordable Care Act or ‘Obamacare’ plans expire this year, hospitals like HCA face declining patient volumes for elective surgeries and diagnostics, even as costs increase from providing uncompensated care to more uninsured patients.
For the second quarter, the hospital operator saw a 2.5% increase in same facility admissions, while inpatient and outpatient surgeries declined.
HCA sees annual profit per share between $28.7 and $30.5, compared with its previous forecast range of $29.1 to $31.5.
The hospital chain also narrowed its annual revenue forecast to a range of $77 billion to $79.5 billion, compared with its previous expectation between $76.5 billion and $80 billion.
The company reported preliminary second-quarter revenue of $20.23 billion, higher than analysts’ average expectation of $19.43 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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