Rewrites throughout to include comments on insurance policies, adds analyst comments in paragraphs 9, 10
By Siddhi Mahatole and Christy Santhosh
July 25 (Reuters) - HCA Healthcare HCA.N lifted its 2025 profit forecast but said it cannot determine how looming changes to insurance plans under Medicaid and Obamacare will impact 2026 earnings, sending the hospital operator's shares down 2% on Friday.
Some COVID-era subsidies under Obamacare are set to lapse in 2026. That would impact patient coverage, lead to a spike in insurance premiums and cause a drop in enrollment numbers, leaving hospital operators such as HCA to foot a heftier bill for compensated care.
"We continue to advocate strongly for their extension, but at this point we do not know what the outcome will be," CEO Samuel Hazen said during a call with analysts.
Hazen said the company is working on a cost efficiency initiative to offset any impact from the subsidy expiry and other government actions such as Medicaid policy changes and tariffs.
Still, the hospital chain operator raised its 2025 profit forecast to between $25.50 and $27 per share, from a range of $24.05 to $25.85 earlier. The latest forecast includes the expected impact from the Trump administration's current and future policies, including potential tariffs on imports.
It also posted upbeat second-quarter results. Quarterly revenue rose 6.4% to $18.61 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $18.50 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Adjusted profit came in at $6.84 per share, beating estimates of $6.25.
However, HCA's same-facility inpatient and outpatient surgeries decreased by 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively, in the quarter ended June 30.
Investors appeared concerned about upcoming regulatory changes that could lead to lower medical membership on the Obamacare and Medicaid plans, said Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback.
"Share reaction may reflect that profit growth could slow materially for caregivers like HCA in the next couple of years." Utterback said.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Devika Syamnath)
((siddhi.mahatole@thomsonreuters.com))