Analysis: Ahead of reform, medical care slowdown hits companies

[Tony_FLADEM]

(Reuters) - As the clock ticks down to the start of a U.S. healthcare overhaul, companies from device makers to hospital chains have been surprised to see Americans make even fewer trips to the doctor's office.

Use of non-emergency medical services has been weak for several years in the wake of a deep recession, high joblessness and the steadily rising cost of care.

Those trends now may be exacerbated in the months before President Barack Obama's healthcare law takes full effect in 2014, analysts said. Part of the reason is that employers are shifting more of the insurance benefits they offer to so-called high-deductible plans, requiring employees to pay more for their medical care upfront, to buffer new costs they face under "Obamacare".

This is all starting to show in some weak and disappointing earnings reports for the first quarter.

"It's still early in the reporting season, but so far it all points to softness. In the U.S. volumes at hospitals, in-patient and out-patient are soft," said David Heupel, senior healthcare analyst at Thrivent Investment Management.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/22/us-usa-healthcare-slowdown-idUSBRE93L04620130422?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true

[Warpy]

1. Good thing, the way hospitals have slashed staffing

After years and years of hearing nothing but what a terrible nursing shortage there is, new grads are having the same kind of trouble landing jobs that new grads in other fields are.

All anyone knows at this point is that eight months from now, the system will start to be very different.

Since they have no idea how it will change, they're all tightening their belts and hoping they can delay treatment until the dust settles and they know what they're going to have to cope with.

Too bad ACA didn't have the provision to bar MBAs from entering any aspect of health care. Now that would be a positive change for everyone, especially the MBAs who have never understood health care and would be much happier at supermarket chains.