Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) — Humana Inc. rose to its highest value in more than 33 years, leading insurance stocks higher after proposed government cuts to the Medicare Advantage program were less than previously expected.

Humana, the second-largest Medicare Advantage insurer, jumped 11 percent to close at $113.69 in New York, its biggest single-day gain since March 2009 and its highest value since at least July 1980, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Managed Health Care Index of 10 companies climbed 3.4 percent.

Health insurers who run Medicare Advantage, the private version of the goverment's managed-care program for the elderly and disabled, face a base payment cut of about 3.55 percent next year, the U.S. government said on Feb. 21. Humana today estimated the final reduction will be 3.5 percent to 4 percent, a smaller decline than the Louisville, Kentucky-based company's previous estimate of 6 to 7 percent.