With much about President-elect Donald Trump’s health-care agenda still unclear, the health-care industry’s initial response to his election has been scattered. Hospital stocks were down. Health insurers’ stock prices were mixed. Pharmaceutical and biotech stocks, on the other hand, got a big bump.
Trump’s clearest policy position in health care has been his commitment to repealing the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with another policy. But the responses to his election varied in large part because the details of exactly what would replace the Affordable Care Act and how that transition would occur have been vague. Without knowing those details, it’s hard for investors to have a clear response, said Benjamin Isgur, a leader in the PwC Health Research Institute.
“These health organizations are like large ships, and you can’t turn them on a dime,” Isgur said. “When you think back to what it took to get ready for the ACA, for many health-care companies, it was two to three years of developing plans and provider networks and marketing plans. . . . There’s a lot of work that is required to implement any new program.”
HENRY KOTULA 