UnitedHealth Group's third-quarter medical costs exceeded Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as the insurer paid out more due to persistently high demand for healthcare services and received lower reimbursements on government-backed insurance plans. Demand for healthcare services under Medicare has surged since late last year as many older adults opted for procedures they had delayed during the pandemic. Shares of UnitedHealth fell 3% in premarket trading after the health conglomerate also trimmed the higher end of its annual adjusted profit forecast by 25 cents to $27.75 per share. The cut was partially due to an increased hit of 10 cents per share from a cyberattack on UnitedHealth's technology unit, Change, in February. The company now sees a business disruption impact of $705 million, or 75 cents a share, this year.
