26 Jan Healthcare Firms Invest More in Home Health Sector

Healthcare Companies Increase Consideration of  Investment in Home Health Care Sector Opportunities & Expansions

Jan, 2018 

Many analysts across sectors including but not limited to Healthcare, watched with anxiety in February and March as the Stock Market went on several roller coaster rides due to politics, the world stage, and perceived general market corrections. During this stretch of unpredictability  and concern, while countless industries saw their fortunes fall or level out, one sector that seemed immune to if not bolstered by the events was the home health care sector. To be clear,  while the S&P 500 dropped almost 4 percent during this period, home health care companies as a whole hauled in a plus 5% return for the month of February into March. Most analysts view these numbers as an signal that while many other broad indicators taking their toll on other industries are rocky at best, the demand for in-home care services across the board remains solid. Factors such as a national shortage in home health workers and aides, paired with aging population may be having a stronger affect than predicted as well, but the long and short of it is that the economic future for investment in home health shines bright.

Larger Healthcare companies on a national level are considering getting into, or expanding their existing reach in the home health care market. This of course, has a trickle down affect to related industries in general that span a wide range of services (from Home Health Software providers, to hospitals and medical clinics, to pharmaceutical and technological companies). These related sectors can also assist in the shift to larger companies directing their dollars and their attention to home care support as a growth opportunity.

The Home Health Index (HHI), which indicates market values of publicly traded companies operating within the home health industry, showed an increase of almost 5% in the month of February alone. When considered in comparison to alternate indexes, the HHI actually scored better than the S&P 500 during this period. When the month of February reached its end, the S&P 500 overall went down by almost 4%, while simultaneously the HHI showed that almost 5% increase.

The recently enacted Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) which went into effect on February 9 also aided in these trends (most analysts believe). The BBA was inclusive of a few different health care measures, including tentative plans to build a new home health payment system by the year 2020. Another beacon of light in the industry is the Tele-medicine segment, which continues to open up new opportunities for those actively looking for care in the home. Tele-health technology appears to be a growing industry component of home care provider  strategy by forging a means to implement home health care service remotely.

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The going consensus yields that home care is currently and will likely in the foreseeable future hold strong as one of the premiere if not THE premiere job creator in the U.S for at least another decade or two. While the demand for home health care continues to rise, due mostly to the baby boomer generation now retiring and aging along with shortages of caregivers nationwide, the supply of agencies has decreased (particularly in some rural areas) leaving a void  that larger companies are looking to fill

Many of the more forward thinking healthcare companies are turning their attention to investment in home care. If recent stock market results are any indication, the opportunities for growth in the health care sector will strengthen with investment of capital as well as personnel and training.

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