Despite the country’s growing number of uninsured, analysts are giving Nashville-based hospital operators Community Health Systems and Psychiatric Solutions favorable outlooks for the coming year.
The Nashville Healthcare Council put together a panel (today/yesterday) to talk about the industry in 2008. A perennial issue has become the growing number of Americans who show up in hospitals unable to pay for care. An estimated 47-million are without health insurance.
Matthew Ripperger of Citi Investment Research says hospitals have found ways to avoid reaching a full-blown crisis. But he says crisis-level might not be far off considering the continued slashing of employer benefits.
“The more payers raise rates, the less people have coverage which means you have growth in uninsured and then ultimately providers pass that on through higher commercial rate increases which results in higher premiums.”
The panelists agree that the presidential election will have the single largest impact on Nashville’s healthcare industry. They suggest Democratic contender Hillary Clinton would attempt to legislate a solution to the uninsured epidemic. While her challenger Barack Obama and Republicans John McCain and Rudy Gulliani might do less meddling and let the free markets work.
Frank Morgan of Jeffries and Company says some sectors within the healthcare industry face headwinds in 2008 not directly linked with the uninsured.
“The assisted living industry is actually feeling a little bit of a pinch as the economy slows, as the housing market slows down, people are less reluctant to move in, particularly in areas like independent living. So the economy, while we all think health care is defensive, there are pockets that are sensitive.”
Overall, healthcare analysts say the industry will continue to grow this year even as the overall economy hits a recession.
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