When the election results began tipping in favor of President-elect Trump, hospital stocks started dipping and pharmaceutical stocks started surging.
President-elect Trump has offered a hazy vision of what’s to come for healthcare, aside from his vow to repeal the ACA and replace it with something else. That “something else” is yet to be determined, however.
The ACA successfully pushed the uninsured rate down, so hospitals were able to reach a larger insured population. If the new presidency tears down the ACA, many may be left uninsured, again. Basically, hospitals are facing a wave of uncertainty, illustrated by HCA Holdings’ 14 percent drop and Tenet Healthcare’s 23 percent drop midday during trading on Nov. 9.
Drug companies, on the other hand, viewed the election results more favorably, as they may be in the clear from major drug pricing reform. On Nov. 9, Pfizer saw an 8 percent boost in trading midday. President-elect Trump said at one point, however, that Medicare should negotiate drug prices.
Payers saw a mixed bag of reactions to election results, as uncertainty spread about the future of the ACA. Those payers benefiting from the exchanges and Medicaid saw stark decreases, while Aetna was up 3 percent.
Only time will tell what is to come over the next four years.
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