Displaying items by tag: medicare

(New York)

Retirement takes a lot of planning, which every financial advisor knows intimately. Yet, retirees themselves often forget some of the big things that can derail their financial plans. Accordingly, here is a list of several important high expense items that retirees forget to account for. Firstly, one-time big ticket things, like new furnaces, air conditioning units, repainting the house etc. This big expenses can catch retirees off-guard. Relatives in need are often another big commitment that retirees don’t see coming. Additionally, many don’t realize that as their Social Security distributions rise, they can be moved into a higher tax bracket and may also see their Medicare premiums rise.

FINSUM: This is a just a good reminder piece of some of the pitfalls of retirement.

(Washington)

The first round of the second Democratic debate occurred last night, and it was full of fireworks. Candidates ramped up their attacks on one another, with most of the aggressiveness directed at Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren for their Medicare for All bills that would create an entirely government-run healthcare system. Other candidates criticized the plan as “fairy tale economics”.

FINSUM: We again think that the debate last night showed why Republicans are most likely to win this election—many in the party recognize the need to play more toward the middle to win the race.

(Washington)

The reality of the political environment in the US is making one thing very clear: it is a tentative time to buy or own healthcare stocks. While healthcare companies are currently performing well, the market is growing increasingly bearish about them, and with good reason. Democratic candidates have proposed an array of new national healthcare plans that all have degrees of disruption, some of them massive, to the status quo. That means the healthcare industry is facing a problem that is very hard to control and could cause extensive changes to their current operating paradigm.

FINSUM: Unless healthcare gets so beat up that it is worth taking a risk on the stocks just as a bet that the Democrats don’t win the election, it seems like there is asymmetric risk reward in the sector right now.

(Washington)

US investors got spooked yesterday by the Democrats’ “healthcare for all” proposal to bring universal socialized care to all Americans. The big fears manifested themselves in insurance stocks, which were hit considerably. However, the proposal has little chance of getting approved as it will certainly be blocked by the Senate. Even if a Democratic president gets elected, it is unlikely the Democrats would gain the 60 seats in the Senate necessary to approve such a move. Therefore, most analysts expect insurance stocks to recover, though not immediately.

FINSUM: We do not think that this plan will come to pass any time soon, but we do think the country is headed in that direction because of the leftist leanings of Millennials, who will slowly gain political power.

(Washington)

The Democrats may have won the House, but they are at a definitive crossroads. While the Republicans currently have a well-defined brand and agenda, the Democrats found themselves largely without a leader and without a clear agenda (other than being anti-Trump). That means they will have some big decisions to make in the near term as they try to mount a push for the presidency in 2020. There appear to be two major policy decisions the party is considering. The first is whether pursuing a fruitless impeachment against Donald Trump would be worthwhile, and the second, and frankly more intriguing question, is whether they will adopt a “Medicare for all” platform.

FINSUM: So much hangs in the balance right now. The Democrats have let themselves be overshadowed by the Republican party and will need to find their ideological and policy footing ahead of the next election. We expect the party’s agenda will move further left in order to serve as a mobilizing foil for its base.