The statewide flu outbreak has become bad enough to prompt a central Kentucky hospital complex to place temporary restrictions on visiting patients, while health care workers brace for the coming weeks when influenza usually hits its peak.

Health insurer Humana Inc. said Monday that its third-quarter net income fell 4 percent as more premium dollars from its members went to pay for medical claims, offsetting continued growth in its lucrative Medicare Advantage business.

A downturn in Humana Inc.'s second-quarter results and net income forecast for the year did not cause skittishness among industry analysts, but they sounded concerns about the health insurer's higher costs and margins from its key Medicare Advantage business.

Humana Inc. said Monday that its first-quarter profit fell 21 percent as the health insurer paid out more in claims and beefed up spending to handle expected growth in its lucrative Medicare Advantage membership.

Humana Inc. posted a 35 percent surge in second-quarter profit Monday, easily beating Wall Street views, as more people enrolled in the health insurer's Medicare plans while existing members made less use of its health care services.

Humana Inc. said Monday its first-quarter profit rose 22 percent as the health insurer benefited from enrollment gains in its Medicare offerings and slower growth in health care use in its employer-based insurance plans.