Investment trust insider on Trump and healthcare – James Carthew: If Trump avoids healthcare pain, now’s a good time to buy
Donald Trump’s provocative healthcare appointments have caused uncertainty for drugs developers but the outlook remains positive once the political noise abates.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the potential positive impact of the new US government on the financials sector so this week it is time look at healthcare.
The US is the world’s largest health care market, so political decisions there can have an outsized impact. The MSCI All Countries World Health Care index is about 11% off its 31 August high, but the election effect has been mixed. While vaccine producers have been hit, UnitedHealth Group, the leading US health insurer, is up.
The list of nominees to Donald Trump’s cabinet seems designed to provoke, and some of them may not make it pass the confirmation hearing stage. However, his choice of Robert F Kennedy Junior to head up the Department of Health and Human Services – overseeing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – has caused consternation.
Kennedy Jr is a peddler of oddball theories on areas such as vaccines and fluoride in drinking water. However, Vivek Ramaswamy, co-head of the new Department of Government Efficiency wants to scrap the CDC altogether. Trump has also put Dr Oz, a TV personality, in charge of the Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Services.
Bellevue Healthcare (BBH) fund managers Paul Major and Brett Darke are sanguine about this, publishing a piece entitled ‘Keep calm and carry on – this too shall pass’, which seems like a reasonable viewpoint to me. They feel that…
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