Obama's plans for sharp cuts send health insurers reeling

Health insurers that offer a private alternative to traditional Medicare have been among the sectors most affected as Wall Street reacts to the Obama administration's plans to make sharp cuts in their payments and open the program to competitive bidding. Other sectors, such as hospitals, also expect cuts as the new administration trims certain costs to expand healthcare coverage for the uninsured, analysts said. The expected cuts in budgets for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid could lead more doctors and hospitals to stop treating patients whose care is paid for by the government.