Lots has been said about the bright future for healthcare. Allow me to pour a little cold water over that notion.
I agree that it is clear we will have substantial increases in demand for healthcare for the forseeable future. However, as healthcare gobbles up more and more of GDP, the focus will increasingly be on the cost of healthcare. The gummint is by far the biggest purchaser of healthcare, and it has only begun to start flexing its muscles WRT setting prices. I think the drug companies, et al. are going to have a hard row to hoe because there will be a lot of implicit and explicit pressures on prices for years (decades?) to come.
I think the best opportunities in healthcare are in companies that help control or reduce the cost of healthcare. Disease management companies, pharmacy benefit managers, and the like look very attractive. I have a significant position (for me) in PLMD, which has specialized in the diabetes management space.
