** Shares of some U.S. health insurers gain in premarket trade after Elevance ELV.N beat Q4 profit estimates

** ELV up 5% at $410.20, UnitedHealth Group UNH.N up 1.4% at $527, CVS Health Corp CVS.N up 2.6% at $53.70, Centene CNC.N up 1.5% at $64.50, Cigna CI.N up 2.4% at $296 and Humana HUM.N up 2.2% at $291.25

** ELV profit beat was partly helped by lower-than-expected spending on medical care for its members

** ELV reports Q4 adj. profit of $3.84 per share vs. estimates of $3.80 per share, as per LSEG data

** Expects, however, medical loss ratio — the percentage of premiums spent on medical care - to be 89.1%, above or below 50 basis points for 2025, compared with analysts' avg. expectations of 88.73%

** Health insurers have been battling with higher medical costs over the past few quarters

** ELV fell ~23%, UNH down 6.2%, CVS slipped 44.4%, CNC fell 21.2%, CI down 10.9%, HUM fell ~46% in 2024

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury and Sneha S K in Bengaluru)

((Kamal.Choudhury@thomsonreuters.com;))