Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) Drops 12% on Medicare Flat Funding

Group 1 - Alignment Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ:ALHC) experienced a significant decline of 11.97% on Tuesday, closing at $20.96, as investors reacted negatively to lower-than-expected preliminary payment proposals for the Medicare Advantage program [1][3] - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projected a net average payment increase of only 0.09%, which is substantially lower than the anticipated growth of 4 to 6 percent by analysts [2] - The CMS also proposed tighter risk-adjustment rules, including the exclusion of diagnoses made solely via audio calls and some chat reviews starting in 2027 [2] Group 2 - Alignment Healthcare's stock drop was in line with other major players in the industry, such as UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, Centene Corp., and Oscar Health, raising concerns about their performance due to exposure to the government-sponsored Medicare program [3] - Investors are expected to monitor Alignment Healthcare's short-term outlook closely, particularly following updates to the Medicare program, with the company scheduled to release its financial and operating highlights in the last week of February 2026 [4]