Insurers/hospitals gain on perceived diminished chances of Obamacare repeal

• Health insurers and hospital operators are staging a modest rally in apparent reaction to comments from Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts implying that the constitutionality of the individual mandate is "severable" from the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare.
• The Trump administration is arguing that the individual mandate, ruled as unconstitutional by an appeals court almost a year ago, is not severable therefore the ACA is unconstitutional and should be repealed. Democrats are opposed to a complete repeal but agree that changes are needed.
• Justice Kavanaugh believes the case is straightforward based on precedents, including an opinion he authored last term that there is a strong presumption of severability. Chief Roberts finds it hard for the administration attorney to argue that Congress intended for the entire ACA to fall if the individual mandate were struck down.
• Selected tickers: Molina Healthcare (MOH +6.1%), UnitedHealth Group (UNH -0.0%), Anthem (ANTM -0.0%), Centene (CNC +2.9%), Cigna (CI +2.1%), Humana (HUM -0.0%), Tenet Healthcare (THC +3.4%), Universal Health Services (UHS +4.3%), Community Health Systems (CYH +4.2%), HCA Healthcare (HCA +2.3%)
• https://seekingalpha.com/news/3634457-health-insurers-hospitals-in-green-on-perceived-diminished-chances-of-obamacare-repeal