WellPoint Inc. said a drop in expenses helped raise its first-quarter net income nearly 6 percent, as it became the third big health insurer in the past week to beat analyst expectations and raise its 2011 earnings forecast.
Humana Inc. gave investors more signs that some insurers will be able to handle the health care overhaul's latest restrictions when it announced a new quarterly dividend and better-than-expected first-quarter results on Tuesday.
Tenet Healthcare has charged rival hospital operator Community Health Systems with systematically bilking Medicare, and the burgeoning legal fight sent shares of the entire sector sliding Monday.