Humana Inc on Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit aided by a better-than-expected performance of its government-backed insurance plans.

Health insurers including Humana had earlier this year warned of a jump in medical costs, as older adults return to hospitals for elective surgeries that were delayed during the pandemic.

Humana's benefit-expense ratio, or the percentage of payout on claims compared to its premiums, rose to 86.4% in the third quarter, lower than analysts' estimate of 86.7%, according LSEG data.

The health insurer reported an adjusted profit of $7.78 per share for the quarter, beating analysts' estimate of $7.16 per share.

(Reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; editing by Milla Nissi)