Senate Unveils Its Version Of Trumpcare: Healthcare Stocks Up
Zacks Investment Research | Jun 23, 2017 08:30AM ET
Healthcare stocks rallied yesterday following the release of the Senate’s version of Trumpcare. Key points covered by the 142-page Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 include cuts to Medicaid, lower taxes for the wealthy and defunding of Planned Parenthood. It will also allow states to decide on the benefits which need to be covered by insurance. This could make insurance coverage pricier for mental health ailments, maternity care as well as addiction issues.
The Senate is expected to vote on this draft bill next week. However, four Republican Senators (Sens. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, and Mike Lee) issued a joint statement saying that they are not ready to vote for the bill due to several reasons but are open to negotiation and obtaining more information before the bill is brought to the floor. While the Senators acknowledged that the draft bill is an improvement to the current health care system, they noted that it does not appear to accomplish the goal of repealing Obamacare and making health care more affordable.
Next week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to issue a report regarding the implications on cost under the draft bill. According to the last CBO report, issued in May 2017, enacting the American Health Care Act (AHCA) AHCA or Trumpcare, as it is often referred to, would cut federal deficits by $119 billion between 2017 and 2026 while about 23 million people would lose health coverage in 2026 compared to Obamacare.
Healthcare Stocks in Focus
Healthcare stocks were up yesterday once the draft bill was released. Hospital stocks like Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE:THC) ; up 6.9%), HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) ; up 2.5%) and Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) ; up 1.8%) recorded gains while managed care companies like Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) ; up 2.3%) were also trading higher. Insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) were also up with this sector expected to gain from the repeal of Obamacare. While Tenet, HCA, UHS and Molina are all Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks, UnitedHealth is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see Original post
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.