Oliver Marti, manager of the healthcare portfolio at Columbus Circle investors, speaks about the impact of the current political environment on healthcare stocks.
TWST: One of the main concerns of investors with health care, especially with the election next year, is the political environment.
Mr. Marti: Yes, absolutely. Through the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the government pays for ~50% of healthcare expenditures in the US. So the political parties in Washington do have an influence on how healthcare spending is allocated. Democrats tend to be a little bit more focused toward a more socialized healthcare program, whereas the Republicans tend to shape healthcare policy decisions with a free market system in mind. So with the elections coming up, health care is going to be a very prominent focus. Health care is always a key agenda item for the elections and creates a lot of media headlines. Any time there is a change in the oval office leadership, there is uncertainty regarding policy change. For now, what is important to keep in mind is that regardless of who is elected, any new changes would not occur until 2010 at the earliest and, in fact, even Hillary Clinton, who is currently a front-runner of the Democratic Party, has said that any major changes, such as universal health care, would not occur until at least her second term. And so I think it is going to be many years before any real significant changes are made on the healthcare front, if any, but it is certainly something to keep on the radar screen.
For more information, click here.
Skilled Healthcare Group, Inc. (SKH) Restructures Balance Sheet and Considers Options with 77% Facility Ownership
July 25, 2013
Omotayo Okusanya, Managing Director with Jefferies, Picks Winners and Losers in the US Healthcare REIT Sector
November 14, 2017
H.C. Wainwright Managing Director of Equity Research and Senior Healthcare Analyst Raghuram Selvaraju, Ph.D., MBA Reveals his Top Picks
October 02, 2018
Kansas City Portfolio Manager Mark Eveans Picks Healthcare Stocks for Growth and Value
November 19, 2018
Sudhir Nanda of T. Rowe Price Sees Value in Drug Trial and Healthcare Management Stocks
April 19, 2020
