Reuters
FILE PHOTO: Sanders delivers a speech on "Medicare for All" at George Washington University
- Health insurance stocks gained Wednesday following Joe Biden's victory over Bernie Sanders during Super Tuesday.
- Biden's delegate wins lessen the chance that Medicare for All, which would virtually eliminate the private health insurance sector, would become a reality.
- Biden's plan would allow people to keep their existing insurance coverage and expand Obamacare.
- Read more on Business Insider.
Health insurance stocks led market gains on Wednesday following Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' Super Tuesday performance.
The renewed optimism came after former Vice President Joe Biden won key delegates during Super Tuesday over Sanders. The wins solidified Biden's place as a front-runner in the presidential race and calmed some investors who prefer his more moderate policies to Sanders'.
Stocks moved higher Wednesday following Biden's success, rebounding from investor panic around the coronavirus outbreak that roiled markets in recent weeks. The S&P 500 Healthcare Index is up 3.6% on Wednesday, led by a 5% gain in the healthcare equipment and services sub-index, and beating out the S&P 500 index's 1.9% increase.
Managed healthcare in particular moved as Biden's victory over Sanders lessens the chance that Medicare for All would become a reality. The ambitious plan would virtually eliminate the private health insurance sector.
Biden, however, has blasted Medicare for All and lauded the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, which he helped pass in the Obama administration. His healthcare plan would expand Obamacare to create an optional federal health plan for those who don't have private coverage, but allow people to keep their existing insurance plans.
Here's how much key health insurance stocks gained on Wednesday: