Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth to expand into new Medicare Advantage

Several health insurers including Cigna Corp.
CI,
-1.85%,
Humana Inc.
HUM,
-1.57%,
and UnitedHealth Group Inc.
UNH,
-2.42%
announced Friday that they are expanding their geographic presence in the Medicare Advantage market. The annual election period for Medicare is between Oct. 15 and Dec. 7 for 2022. Cigna said it will enter 108 new counties in 2022, Humana will offer its HMO plans in 115 new counties, and United plans to introduce its plan in 276 new counties. Aetna, which is now part of CVS Health Corp.
CVS,
-2.22%,
will offer MA plans in 2022, as well. So far this year, Cigna’s stock is down 3.8%, Humana shares have dropped 5.5%, UnitedHealth’s stock is up 11.4%, and shares of CVS have gained 24.2%. The S&P 500
SPX,
-1.19%
is up 14.7% for the year.