Moodys forecasts Obama healthcare plan will be boon for hospitals
As the financial market speculates about the impact of president-elect Barack Obama’s proposed economic initiatives, Moody’s Investors Services issued a report late last week forecasting that his election will provide a boon to United States’ hospitals.

The report, U.S. Healthcare Industry: Credit Implications of the U.S. Election, holds that the president-elect’s plan to extend healthcare to uninsured Americans will result in an increase in revenues for healthcare providers.

The ratings agency estimates that the annual cost of the plan could be on the order of $100 billion to $200 billion, inclusive of participant contributions, on top of current annual government spending of about $800 billion.

Moody’s also noted that the agenda of the Democratic party includes increasing research funding and providing $10 billion over five years to healthcare providers to build up electronic-information systems.

Because the plan would increase the number of insured patients and the amount of reimbursements for care, hospitals could benefit directly and indirectly, Moody’s said.

The firm warned that the president-elect's plan may take years to implement as the country tries to untangle its current economic difficulties.

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

Philips introduced a new CT system at ECR aimed at the rapidly growing cardiac CT market, incorporating numerous AI features to optimize workflow and image quality.

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup