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Xnarg said:Pls, no politics!no politics? Please. Image of avatar captured for fun.
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Xnarg said:I'm wondering what folks think about investing in or working in the health care industry now that it may be faced with large changes.
The changes will hurt the following people: 1) Highly Paid (>$100k) Management of health insurance companies 2) Highly Paid (>$100k) Management of pharmaceutical companies 3) Highly Paid (>$100k) Professionals (mainly doctors) in the health service sector 4) Investors in Pharmaceutical companies 5) Investors in Health Insurance companies 6) Anyone who currently receives employer-provided insurance 7) Anyone who earns more than $40k per year 8) Small Business Owners
Xnarg said:Would you invest in health care stocks now? Are there industry segments that are more or less at risk?
The changes will likely help the following segments: 1) Information Management of Healthcare 2) People who earn under $40k per year but do not qualify for Medicare
Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical are most at risk.
Xnarg said:For those entering the work force, how is your take on working for a company in the industry?
I think the downsizes have likely occurred and if you have a job or can get one, great! I would also make sure you have a nice severance package for when future cuts come in. Then you will have a nice year of unemployment + severance to switch fields.
Message edited by: tripleB on 2009-08-10 13:32:31 CDT
The health care industry has a very small profit margin, and it's about to get worse. Working in the field of health care can be grueling, long hours, weekends and holidays, heavy lifting, profit hungry admin. Physical therapists and Occupational Therapists do make good money, though, and are in great demand. They usually work days, have weekends and holidays off, and can get some great sign on bonuses. If I had it to do over again, I would not have gone into nursing. I would have done PT or OT.
My wife works in administrative capacities for a hospital network in the area. Very tough for hospitals right now - layoffs have happened and will happen again (not just in administration).
Apparently admittances have been down - that's a large factor (whether that's just my wife's hospitals or if it's symptomatic of a poor economy, I don't know). Another factor has been non-payers, obviously.
That said, I think it's highly likely (whether we like it or not) that there will be some form of health insurance reform done that results in a large government expenditure. It's hard to see how a large part of this would not somehow benefit the hospitals & those in that field. (Addressing really both major problems that my wife has mentioned to me).
Message edited by: skagen on 2009-08-10 13:42:10 CDT
If the proposed public health insurance plan goes into effect, I can see hospital administration staffs growing to handle reimbursements from the feds. I don't know if it's this way nationally, but in some local hospitals you have particular staff members dedicated to dealing with individual insurance companies. Even if I use some VERY conservative estimates and say those employees make $50k in total compensation and there are 6 of them, that's $300k, roughly the cost of 2-3 nurse practitioners.
I actually wouldn't bet against big pharm companies. They have huge lobbying power (as evidenced by the prescription plan for Medicare) and more and more doctors are turning into glorified pill dispensers for people who see an ad for a new drug.
IT jobs at hospitals should tick up slightly with the electronic medical records, but that should also (hopefully) yield more efficient health care.
I work for big Pharma and there is a lot of consolidation going on in the industry right now. I am thinking that the enormous companies that are being created will have a difficult time reacting to whatever new policies might be ahead. If I were a college kid looking for a job, I'd probably steer away from pharma, but then again, college kids these days should consider taking what they can get because they aren't exactly giving away jobs at the airport.
tripleB said:3) Highly Paid (>$100k) Professionals (mainly doctors) in the health service sector
I see surgeons and specialists (>$800k) having reduced salaries, but primary cares (<$400k) increased salaries. Look at recently appointed surgeon general, plus verbage for equality of pay for services.
I agree about medical information management and nursing jobs. Unfortunately, Medicare/Medicaid cuts will probably mean job cuts at least at some hospitals, starting with admin staff and extending to clinical positions. Something to think about, the policy discussion about increasing the number of primary care doctors may lead to programs to forgive student loans and give other incentives to medical students opting for this (unpopular) field. However, I doubt they would be enough to offset the pay gap between primary and specialty care.
Message edited by: lakshmi111 on 2009-08-10 21:59:51 CDT
My wife's a nurse at Johns Hopkins and they recently eliminated the employer-matching contributions to their 403B, also the raises there this year were pathetic, but for now I'm glad she has the job she does because it is 10-hr day shifts on weekdays (at her first hospital she had to do half nights and half weekends). Definitely recommend getting a specialty if you become a nurse (some employers pay for it). I'd be interested in learning what financial opportunities all this healthcare reform is going to open up.
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