health care « Investrend Weblogs

Posts Tagged ‘health care’

Health Care Reform Will Help Who How?

October 12, 2009 (By Bob Farley)

– Is it a coincidence that health care ETFs (exchange traded funds) rallied on Friday? The Health Care Select Sector SPDRS ETF (NYSE: XLV) closed at their highest level in over a month, while the Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSE: VHT) gained more than 1%. Maybe they know something that the rest of us should know?

For sure, we know that Congress has health-care reform on its platter this week, but with former lobbyists from companies like WellPoint (NYSE: WLP), one of the biggest health insurers in the country, on the panel helping write policy, it’s no wonder that the bill coming out provides that those without insurance will be forced to buy insurance from for-profit organizations. [entire post]

Tags: health, health care, health insurance, insurance
Posted in All, Farley | No Comments »

Effective & Efficient: Two Words Our Government Has Demonstrated It Does Not Understand

September 27, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

From “Front and Center”, by Bud Burrell

– We face impending legislative actions by our elected representatives that would potentially nationalize our health care systems, and a new taxation policy on energy being called euphemistically a “Cap and Trade” program, intended to have the US to try and unilaterally control Greenhouse Gases, while the rest of the World changes nothing. This comes on the heels of moves to effectively nationalize our banking system under the control of an entity which has never been audited or examined except “In Camera”, and a move to negate more than a century of property rights of bondholders as expressed in our bankruptcy laws by the national unionization of our automotive industry.

The expressed goals of any organization must ultimately be linked to operating effectively, meaning getting the job in front it done, and operating efficiently, meaning to operate in a manner that clearly treats all assets consumed in such activities as limited scarce resources which must be conserved with a conscience. Objective standards for measurement of the performance of any organization by necessity and practicality cannot come from within the organization in question, but must be based on third party, arms length research and review. This element is sorely lacking in our Government and its agencies today. [entire post]

Tags: arrogance, bankruptcies, cap and trade, citizen inferiors, currency devaluation, effective and efficient, elitism, fannie mae, freddie mac, greenhouse gases, health care, in camera, medicaid, medicare, social security, trust funds
Posted in All, Burrell | No Comments »

Doctors And Patients: Looking For A Way Out

July 8, 2009 (By Dr. Joe Duarte)

From “Dr. Joe’s Market Diagnosis“, by Dr. Joe Duarte

Health care stocks, such as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Lifepoint Hospitals (NASDAQ: LPNT) have been acting well in a fairly dicey market. Yet, the real action in health care is what’s going on at the street level as doctors and patients are starting to look for ways to opt out of the current system.

As the government looks to raise taxes, hospital and drug company groups cut deals, looking for ways to pay for a controversial expansion of the health care system in the United States. In Seattle, a city whose politics are known to lean to the extreme left at times, a market-oriented approach to health care has emerged, a one price per month, all inclusive system where insurance is not part of the equation and entrepreneurs and physicians are trying a different approach by going outside the mainstream medical model. So far the group of physicians and two venture capital groups, New Atlantic Ventures and Clear Fir Partners, have raised $7.5 million toward the expansion of a medical practice, going by the name of Qliance.

The medical practice bills itself as providing health care “for people fed up with insurance, started by doctors fed up with insurance” saying that “it has a profit-making solution to the problems of long waits, rushed doctors and cursory care that bother patients, at the same time that it eliminates the paperwork and pressure that plague primary care doctors,” reported Reuters. [entire post]

Tags: company, doctors, drug, health care, health insurance, hospital, JNJ, Johnson & Johnson, medical, patients, physicians, politics, practice, Seattle, system, venture capital
Posted in All, Duarte | No Comments »

The ‘Uncertainty’ Impact Of The Potential Cap And Tax Bill

June 29, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

From “Front & Center”, by Bud Burrell

The House of Representatives passed the Cap and Tax Bill with a margin provided them by 8 Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote with the majority of Democrats. 44 Democrats reversed, in fear of their ability to hold their seats in 2010 if they voted for this bill. The margin of victory was 7 votes, meaning had the Republicans held together, this bill would not have passed.

No one knows how the US Senate will now act on this legislation. SEN Harry Reid says the Senate will not vote on the final version of the bill after conference and mark-up until sometime next Fall. This creates a level of uncertainty that will cripple new investment in the American economy, and drop a wall in front of any new job creation. The market has always been able to deal with rules, but when the rules are vague or uncertain, capital is paralyzed until things are clarified.

The Coal industry has been handed its own death warrant. At a time when our electric power generation needs all the help it can get, coal companies are being told they are to be shut down. Few Americans understand what this means, the size of the total infrastructure supporting the source of energy that produces literally 50% of our total electric power. From mining of the coal, to shipment to power plants, to technologies for handling pollution, Coal creates and supports literally millions of jobs in this country and abroad. [entire post]

Tags: acorn armed, cap and tax, coal, fear, gas, health care, house of representatives, leftist agenda, offshore fuel, petroleum, phantom damage, plants, rust, senate, uncertainty, war implications
Posted in All, Burrell | No Comments »

A New Wall Of Worry Is Rising

May 15, 2009 (By Dr. Joe Duarte)

From “Dr. Joe’s Market Diagnosis”, by Dr. Joe Duarte

The S & P SPDR (NYSE: SPY) and the Proshares Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: QQQQ) ETFs had a tough time for the week that ended on May 15, 2009, as the stock market seems to be pricing in another down leg in the economy as policy and legislation initiatives slated for development and likely passage in the next few months are leading to another round of uncertainty.

At the top of the scary stuff list are congressional plans for a busy summer of legislation. Congressional Democrats have an ambitious July agenda, featuring healthcare reform, climate change, annual spending bills and a potential Supreme Court before the August recess.

The Hill.com suggests that this could be the final push of “the busiest stretch of Obama’s first term,” which makes us wonder that means, exactly. Is it a sign that the onslaught of “change” is done? Or are they alluding to the fact that it will take a year to get agreements on all the upcoming legislation? To be sure, the 2010 election campaign for Congress will put a damper on any significant activity. And by the time that’s over, the presidential campaign will be in full swing. [entire post]

Tags: china, climate change, communist, congress, credit, democrat, economy, electronic(s), etf, fannie mae, health care, latin ameirca, legislation, metals, mortgage(s), nasdaq 100, obama, oil, policy, recovery, reform, rescue plan, s&p 500, supreme court, wall of worry, white house
Posted in All, Duarte | No Comments »

Health Care At The Breaking Point

May 7, 2009 (By Dr. Joe Duarte)

From “Dr. Joe’s Market Diagnosis”, by Dr. Joe Duarte

Shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) may get a bounce as the markets look for way to make money from the swine flu outbreak. But the breakout of a new flu scare brings home a very significant point that goes beyond making money from a potential crisis.

As the swine flu hype kicks into high gear, and President Obama has instructed the Senate Majority to pass health care reform with 51 votes by invoking a complex procedure called reconciliation which blocks filibusters, consider this: fewer physicians, worsening demographics, and decreased reimbursement are coming to a head as the White House increases his focus on health care.

After nearly two decades of managed care, the U.S. health care system is about to lurch into a new degree of uncertainty, and the White House seems to be shocked at what has been obvious to physicians and patients for a few years now. The market has reached the point at which it can no longer bear the stresses put on it. So physicians are opting to opt out. [entire post]

Tags: 'new york times', budget, congress, deficit(s), education, filibuster, health care, insurance, legislation, lobbying, managed care, massachusetts, medicaid, medicare, medicare payment advisory commission, miami, national health service corps, obama, policy, primary care, reconciliation, senate, swine flu, texas, universal, white house
Posted in All, Duarte | No Comments »

Tax Increases Start, 90 Days Into Presidency

April 30, 2009 (By Bud Burrell)

From “Front & Center”, by Bud Burrell

Today, the News Services announced that the Obama Administration and Congress will do away with the Middle Class Tax Cuts enacted under the Bush Administration. This comes on top an already announced decision to let the upper class tax cuts expire next year. Wow, that’s impressive, only 90 days to break the biggest recurring promise of his campaign.

The meager $400 Middle Class Tax Cut had already been eaten up with increased medical plan co-pay increases, along with increases in Social Security contributions. With only about 55% of Americans paying income tax, it means all tax payers paying over the standard social security contribution levels will be looking at tax increases next year.

The spectacular increase faced by all US citizens, tax payers or not, is the probable tax to be implemented for Cap and Trade, which will impose a 45% tax on all carbon based energy consumed by individuals, corporations, manufacturers, large buildings, and power plants. The minimum total tax increase on Utility bills alone will exceed 50% of current bills. This is money millions of Americans will not have to spend. [entire post]

Tags: (the) treasury, admistration, banks, cap & trade, co-pay, congress, energy, fund, government(s), gun control, health care, insurance, job(s), medical, middle class, obama, pension, retirement, single-pay, social security, socialism, tarp, tax(es), universal, utlilities
Posted in All, Burrell | No Comments »