Health insurance stocks continue to outperform and benefit from the growth in US healthcare spending. Centene (NYSE:CNC) and Oscar (OSCR) should benefit from this trend. But which of these two stocks is a better buy now? Read more to find out.Centene Corporation (CNC) operates as a multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured individuals in the United States. The company provides its services through primary and specialty care physicians, hospitals, and ancillary providers. On the other hand, Oscar Health, Inc. (OSCR) provides health insurance products and services in the United States. The company offers Individual & Family, Small Group, and Medicare Advantage plans, as well as +Oscar, a full-stack technology platform.
With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to the rapid spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus, the healthcare plan industry is expected to remain in the spotlight. Moreover, the healthcare plan industry is considered relatively stable in terms of performance, given an almost inelastic demand for healthcare plans, making it an investor favorite during volatile market conditions. Moreover, the emergence of state-of-the-art smartphone apps and new insurance schemes would contribute to the market’s growth in the near future. Therefore, both CNC and OSCR should benefit.
CNC has gained 10.7% over the past month, while OSCR has negative returns. Also, CNC’s 31.8% gains over the past nine months are significantly higher than OSCR’s negative returns. Moreover, CNC is the clear winner with 34.8% gains versus OSCR’s negative returns in terms of the past three months’ performance.