HCV therapies cost UnitedHealth $100M in 1Q14
On a conference call to discuss the company's 1Q14 earnings, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) CFO Dan Schumacher said the insurer recorded a little more than $100 million in costs in the quarter for HCV treatments, which President and CEO Stephen Hemsley said was a result of "the rapid launch of an effective and very expensive" new HCV therapy. Hemsley declined to provide specifics, but said the "aggressive U.S. pricing practices on this have been well-publicized, and continues to be quite controversial." Hemsley added that UnitedHealth is "working diligently to ensure this medication is applied under clinically appropriate standards." Schumacher attributed the costs to pent-up demand and said UnitedHealth's costs are "not inconsistent with what folks are seeing across the industry." ...