Earnings Preview: UnitedHealth To Post 3Q Results

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Managed care company UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest commercial health insurer as measured by revenue, reports third-quarter results Tuesday. Here are key developments related to that period.

OVERVIEW: Much of the news concerning health insurers in the third quarter had nothing to do with their financial performance.

Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth and many other companies in the managed care sector have seen their share prices climb and fall depending on investor reaction to the push for health care changes in Washington, D.C. Congress is debating plans to cover the uninsured and reduce health care costs. Several aspects of these bills have made investors and analysts edgy.

They worry about any fees that might be imposed on the industry, and they're also concerned about proposals to create a government-backed public option that would compete with private insurers.

Stocks also dipped when a health care proposal that does not include a public option advanced out of the Senate Finance Committee. The prospect of a health care overhaul has affected stock prices in the sector for several months.