The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, and even though full implementation doesn't begin until next year, we're already seeing businesses react to a dramatically different health-care landscape.
UPS (UPS 0.63%) recently announced that it will drop coverage for 15,000 spouses of white-collar employees that also get insurance through another job. UPS was quick to blame the increased costs of Obamacare, with the expected rate of health-care spending to jump more than 50% thanks to the law.
But we also see positive developments as companies adapt to the changing landscape. Thanks to Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid, pharmacies are planning to capture newly insured lower-income patients who may not be able to see a general practitioner. Also, the acquisition by large medical-device company Medtronic (MDT 0.35%) of Cardiocom, a patient monitoring and disease management specialist, pushes Medtronic into a more comprehensive health-care service-provider role. The Affordable Care Act attempts to shift the health-care model from one paying for service to one of paying for quality outcomes, and Medtronic is smartly shifting with this dynamic.
In this video, health-care analyst David Williamson discusses the three ways the Affordable Care Act is affecting these health-care stocks, whether they're making the right move, and what it all means for investors.
Follow David on Twitter: @MotleyDavid.
