Health insurers’ pain means gains for hospital, surgical center stocks

Shares of hospital and surgical-center operators moved higher premarket on Wednesday after a UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH executive commented Tuesday on a trend of older adults catching up on surgeries delayed during the pandemic. Shares of Surgery Partners Inc. SGRY, an operator of surgical facilities and related services, gained 4.9% premarket Wednesday, while shares of hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. CYH gained 7.6% and shares of hospital giant HCA Healthcare Inc. HCA gained 2.2%. HCA is “very pleased with the volume patterns and the demand we’re seeing in the markets right now,” chief financial officer…