CVS Health grows more cautious about 2024 as it deals with rising Medicare Advantage costs WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio [Video]

Busy Medicare Advantage businesses have CVS Health and other insurance providers spooked about the new year.

The health care giant said Wednesday that it was scaling back already cautious expectations for 2024 as it tries to understand why costs keep rising from the privately run version of the government’s Medicare program.

Medicare Advantage plans cover people who are age 65 and older and others with severe disabilities or illnesses. CVS Health has about 3.5 million people in that business through its Aetna arm.

Health insurers started warning last year about higher-than-expected costs in their Medicare Advantage plans. CVS Health said Wednesday those costs were coming from outpatient care like hip and knee surgeries and supplemental benefits such as dental and vision coverage.

Rivals Humana and UnitedHealthcare, the two largest Medicare Advantage insurers, have pointed to similar problems. Humana said late last month that more of its customers had been admitted for short hospital stays than it had expected.

Chief Financial …