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70% Chance Individual Mandate Ruled Unconstitutional (HCA) (THC) (CNC) (more)

June 13, 2012 2:07 PM EDT
There is a 70 percent chance the individual health care mandate is ruled unconstitutional, according to Intrade, an online betting site for political events. Prior to oral arguments, the odds were in the mid 30 percent range.

A Reuters report out Wednesday painted an interesting picture for health care stocks, which, according to analysts, will see wild swings in specific sectors depending on the ruling.

For example, if the law is struck down, hospital companies such as HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE: HCA) or Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE: THC) would suffer. Insurers specializing in Medicaid programs such as Centene Corp (NYSE: CNC) or Molina Healthcare Inc (NYSE: MOH) might also trade lower.

Also upon an "unconstitutional" ruling, larger insurers like Aetna Inc (NYSE: AET) or WellPoint Inc (NYE: WLP) could sees boost in their stocks as the companies avert stricter regulations and higher costs mandated by the law. But striking down the mandate alone would hurt these insurers if associated provisions are not also struck, as it would allow sick individuals to buy insurance on the way to the hospital.


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