Both President Obama’s and Senator Kennedy’s healthcare plans are estimated to cost $1 trillion over 10 years.
I’ll believe it when I see it. When was the last time the government completed any project on budget?
For example, Health Systems Innovations, a healthcare consultant that has worked with private health insurers and the McCain presidential campaign, estimates that Senator Kennedy’s bill would cost $4 trillion over 10 years.
Should a healthcare plan be passed that even resembles anything like the current proposals, $2 trillion in costs would be a minor miracle.
A trillion here, a trillion there. Pretty soon, you’re talking about real money.
In my column last week, I offered three biotech stocks that should perform well, regardless of any healthcare reform plan that may be passed. As those reforms gather momentum, I’m going to explore a few more investments that should thrive, even in the face of a healthcare system overhaul…
Make Money From Bond Market Trouble
Despite the President’s popularity, he’s not likely to get everything he wants. Some sort of compromise is likely. But it’s safe to assume that the cost of the healthcare plan will be a 13-figure number (i.e. more than $1 trillion).
On a macroeconomic level, that would likely be inflationary and cause bond prices to decline. So if you’re a bond bear, here are two investments for you…
- UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury ProShares (NYSE: TBT): This ETF is not for the faint-hearted. It seeks to perform at twice the inverse results of the Lehman Brothers 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index. So if the Index drops 5%, TBT should return rise about 10%.
- ProFunds Rising Rate Opportunity (RRPIX): This is a mutual fund that also seeks the inverse performance of the bond market. Its results aim to correspond to 125% of the inverse of the daily movement of the 30-year Treasury bond.
How To Buy Genzyme For $47.50
In last week’s column, I discussed the attractiveness of biotech companies that treat rare diseases.
But one of those names, Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ), had a major setback this week when it disclosed problems at one of its manufacturing facilities.
I believe these difficulties are temporary and I still like the company.
