The Nov. 6 midterm elections were viewed as a victory for insurers, with Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Medicaid expansion referendums winning voter support, CNBC reports.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Shares of Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group and Louisville, Ky.-based Humana surged more than 4 percent Nov. 7, and Indianapolis-based Anthem's stock was up more than 5 percent.
2. Medicaid expansion referendums won voter support in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah, potentially giving thousands of Americans access to healthcare coverage.
3. Some see Medicaid expansion as a positive for hospitals. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare also saw their stocks surge Nov. 7.
4. Forty-one percent of voters said healthcare was their No. 1 concern in the election, an NBC News exit poll found.
5. Democrats honed in on healthcare during midterm campaigns, and their new majority in the House is expected to impede the Republican Party's efforts to repeal ACA.