Earnings season opens with UnitedHealth, J&J

OCT. 15: It’s earnings season! UnitedHealth Group is slated to deliver its quarterly results before the markets open. Zacks Investment Research predicts the company’s revenue will total $59.6 billion, 5.4% higher than the same period last year. Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson is also expected to release its Q3 earnings before the markets open. Management is sure to face questions about pending litigation over the opioid crisis during their analyst briefing.

OCT. 16: Every year, emergency departments treat 2.8 million injuries for seniors who have fallen. And 27,000 seniors die annually due to falls. If the situation doesn’t improve, falls could end up costing Medicare $52 billion in 2020. The Senate Special Committee on Aging plans to delve into the problem during a hearing titled “Falls Prevention: National, State, and Local Solutions to Better Support Seniors.”

OCT. 16: Concerns around the dangers of e-cigarettes are growing day by day. As of Oct. 8, there were 1,299 “lung injuries” and 26 confirmed deaths associated with vaping, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A House Appropriations subcommittee will hear from the CDC and other public health officials about this “emerging threat.”

OCT. 16: A House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee holds a hearing titled “Broken Promises: Assessing VA’s Systems for Protecting Veterans from Clinical Harm.”