(Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc Chief Financial Officer John Rex said on Tuesday that patient medical costs are running within the company’s expectations and forecast they will stay that way this year.

Rex spoke on a conference call to discuss second-quarter earnings in which the company reported a medical care ratio, which compares premiums taken in to the cost of delivering medical care, that was worse than Wall Street expected.

In 2018, Rex said the company expects a ratio of 81.5 percent this year, plus or minus 50 basis points.