Insurers await final 2014 Medicare Advantage rates

Health insurance stocks were mixed Monday as investors and analysts await final word from the federal government on Medicare Advantage rates for 2014. Investors have been wary about possible steep cuts to Medicare Advantage plans since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Feb. 15 that it expects costs per person to fall more than 2 percent in 2014, a bigger drop than many analysts who cover the industry anticipated. The government uses that figure as a benchmark to determine payment for Medicare Advantage plans, which are privately run versions of the federally funded Medicare program for the elderly and disabled people