Health insurer Universal American Corp. said it posted a profit in the first quarter because of rising Medicare Advantage plan revenue.

After the markets closed on Thursday, Universal American said it earned $1.4 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with a loss of $13.1 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a tax gain and other items, it lost a penny per share in the most recent quarter. Revenue grew 11 percent, to $1.51 billion from $1.36 billion.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 16 cents per share and $1.48 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

Universal American does most of its business with Medicare. It said revenue from Medicare Advantage plans climbed 21 percent to $785 million, and revenue from Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage rose 5 percent to $644 million.

Medicare Advantage plans are privately run programs that are provided by health insurers but paid for by the government. [Read the full article]

Magellan Health Services Inc. said Friday its first-quarter profit soared 88 percent, as the health care outsourcing company saw growth from behavioral and radiology management and a new Medicaid administration business.

Magellan earned $25.5 million, or 73 cents per share, in the three months that ended March 31, up from $13.6 million, or 37 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, a profit of 65 cents per share on higher revenue of $748 million.

The company expects a profit ranging from $95.5 million to $115 million, or $2.73 to $3.29 per share, on revenue ranging from $3 billion to $3.2 billion for the year. [Read the full article]