Page 10 - The MarchLife Story

RECESSION
RESISTANT
Healthcare has proven to be one of the most resilient industries during economic downturns:
No out-sourcing of healthcare jobs. Doctors, nurses, etc. cannot perform their tasks from another country.
New technologies such as electronic health records require new positions and jobs. Government has supported funding of these technologies, which translates to support for adapting to the new system.
Healthcare is inelastic. A reduction in discretionary income does not directly correlate to a reduction in household healthcare spending.
Regardless of economic conditions, healthcare services for an aging population will always be in demand.
The healthcare sector has always been considered a defensive play with plenty of upside. The prevailing assumption is consumers will spend money on their health even during economic or market downturns. Current trends, such as an aging population and greater life expectancy, also point to increased demand for healthcare services. With the advent of National health insurance and the expansion of Medicaid, hospitals, in particular, are expected to see increased revenues due to higher numbers of admissions.
Uncollectible revenue has fallen drastically as recent regulations from those not insured have helped 17 million people gain insurance. This is important because payments from the uninsured are uncertain leaving such revenue mostly uncollectible. The future government plan is to have all people insured through public and private insurers, which will further reduce or eliminate future uncollectible revenue. Through the inevitable systematic reduction of uninsured and uncollected bills, risk for medical facility owners and operators alike decreases because revenues become more predictable.
U.S. EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN HEALTHCARE AND ALL OTHER INDUSTRIES, 2003 Q1 - 2013 Q1
INSURANCE ENROLLMENT
Public Private
27
30 30 19
40 31
15 99
1
2014
2015 2016 2017 2018
CDC: UNINSURED RATE FALLS BELOW 10%
% of unisured Americans, based on CDC early release data
20 18 16 14 12 10
8
6 2007 2009
2011 2013 2015
10
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
2012 2013