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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Investing |
What healthcare industries would be safe to invest in now if universal healthcare becomes a reality in the fut |
a reality in the future. 2 things: 1) A Tresury bill is a safe investment. What you want is a profitable investment, which will always carry a risk. 2) Long shots rarely pan out. Trade what's in front of you. Even if we get universal healthcare, there will be plenty of time to identify the companies that will be making $$ off of the transition. Good question. If universal coverage comes with restrictions on the prices charged, I may not want to invest in the service providers. I've heard they already complain about the amount of Medicare reimbursement not covering the actual costs of service. So, maybe the best investments would be in the medical equipment/supplies areas. I doubt that Congress would go so far as to control the amount that they charge the doctors and hospitals for the machines and supplies. BW Healthcare is NOT a safe investment, regardless of whether there is going to be a universal healthcare system. Healthcare companies have numerous risks, from litigation to inability to make the latest product well enough to get it approved by regulators. Healthcare is an incredibly competitive field, too. Moreover, universal healthcare is supposed to be a good thing for patients, not for providers. Most universal healthcare systems in the world have at least one of these two features, (1) the national healthcare system actively uses its sheer size to negotiate the prices down, and (2) at least some healthcare services are provided by public-sector organizations in direct competition (and at lower prices) compared to private providers. Many have both. As a result, healthcare is affordable for the patient, but not particularly profitable for the provider. One industry that would greatly benefit from introduction of universal healthcare is policy research and healthcare consulting. Alas, most companies in this arena are either privately held or structured as very small and fairly insignificant divisioins of much larger companies (Medstat, for example, is owned by Thomson). Medical education could benefit as well, but, alas, it is dominated by universities. |
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