Major health insurers were sent into a frenzy Monday evening (1/26) after the Medicare Advantage Plan rates for 2026 were set.
Major health insurers were sent into a frenzy Monday evening (1/26) after the Medicare Advantage Plan rates for 2026 were set at an average of 0.09% increase in payments to private insurance companies, while the expectation was for an increase was close to the 4% to 5% range. While the final rate announcement is scheduled for April 6th, 2026, shares of some of the major insurance companies moved notably south after Monday’s, which coincided with the announcement for earnings for at least one of those major insurance companies – UnitedHealth (UNH).
While earnings provided mixed results including a slight profit and soft guidance for UNH, much of the downside action can be attributed to the reaction from the underwhelming Medicare rate increase. Tuesday’s intraday action saw UNH drop nearly 20%, sending the chart into Os and returning to stock to a sell signal while violating multiple levels of support. Additionally, the market and peer relative strength charts have shifted back into Os after having been in Xs since August, which will cause the stock to drop to a 0 for 5’er. Tuesday’s downside action negates the technical improvement that had occurred for UNH, but it was not the only stock to see its technical picture deteriorate.
Along with UNH, CVS Health Corporation (CVS) and Humana (HUM) were among the major downside movers in reaction to the initial Medicare rate announcement. Prior to Tuesday’s action, CVS had improved to a 3 for 5’er and recently rallied to within one box of its 52-week high from October 2025. Tuesday’s downside drove the trend chart in Os and back to a sell signal by breaking a double bottom at $77 as shares fell to $71, violating the bullish support line in the process. The trendline violation, along with a reversal into Os on its market RS chart, will drop CVS down to a 1 for 5’er.
Humana (HUM) witnessed similar downside to UNH as it fell roughly 20% intraday, sending the chart of HUM into Os and returning the stock to a negative trend as shares fell to $208, matching the 2025 and multi-year chart low. Along with the shift into a negative trend, the peer RS chart appears it will move to an RS sell signal, which will drop the stock down to a 0 for 5’er.
While the three aforementioned names were the notable breakdowns among the major healthcare insurance companies, there were other, smaller cap insurers that witnessed downside and technical breakdowns. There are also a small number that maintained their technical picture despite Tuesday’s action, an example of which is Molina Healthcare (MOH). While the chart did reverse into Os down to $190 from the recent rally high at $200, MOH continues to maintain a buy signal and positive trend. The stock also maintains above notable support in the mid $180s and upper $170s.
Though the Medicare Advantage Plan rates aren’t finalized until April, investors have seen the technical pictures of those potentially impacted most already see changes and, in some cases, negate improvement that had occurred in the back-half of 2025. Those names maintaining recent technical improvements despite Tuesday’s action will be ones to monitor.
