Shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) fell off a cliff last week after the company reported that it is seeing a rise in surgeries. This development will increase its costs and impact its bottom line. Already a struggling stock, the news sent the company's shares even lower and they are now near their 52-week lows. Is UnitedHealth Group in bad shape, and could its stock fall even further? Or is now a great time for investors to consider buying shares?

During the early stages of the pandemic amid lockdowns, hospitals postponed surgeries. People were also unable or hesitant to visit doctor's offices, which may have contributed to fewer folks knowing that they even needed to have surgery.

But now, with things largely back to normal, that demand has come roaring back. UnitedHealth anticipates that as a result of a big increase in surgeries, its medical loss ratio (MLR), a key metric for health insurers, will jump by 1 percentage point, from 82.1% to 83.1%. The MLR tells investors how much of a premium an insurer is using to spend on a medical claim, with the remaining amount being available to cover overhead and other expenses.

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Source Fool.com