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Americans' Reluctance to Seek Treatment Hurting Publicly Traded Healthcare Firms
Written by Molly Gamble | November 04, 2010
A recent Reuters analysis shows American patients aren’t seeking medical care at the rate they once did due to the economy, which has had an impact on a number of publicly traded healthcare firms, according to a Reuters report.
Wall Street analysts expected a rebound in device sales in 2011, but device makers’ latest financial results show little evidence of recovery.
Financial analysts link the decrease to high unemployment, the expiration of COBRA benefits and high deductibles and co-payments. There has not only been a decline in hospital admissions, but in medical procedures and the sales of hospital products and devices as well.
Key findings in the report include:
• Orthopedic procedures are some of the hardest-hit treatment areas, with orthopedic device makers such as Zimmer Holdings, Stryker Corp and Johnson & Johnson's DePuy subsidiary reporting soft sales in the third quarter.
• Medical device makers as diverse as robotic surgical systems maker Intuitive Surgical and heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences highlighted weakness in procedure volumes in the third quarter.
• Shares of CareFusion, a hospital products maker, fell 5.6 percent on Tuesday, ending at $23.03.
Read the Reuters report about its latest analysis finding fewer patients seeking care.
Read more analyses and reports on hospitals:
-CDC: Total Hospitalization Rate Leveling After 15 Years of Decline
-Americans Using Less Healthcare, Big Insurers Report
-Drug-Related Hospitalizations of Older Adults More Than Doubled in 10 Years
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