The Motley Fool's Market Checkup drills down on the hottest headlines and biggest market movers in the health-care sector. This episode -- featuring a special guest appearance by Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning -- highlights a biotech stock that popped 40%, gives a full examination of the Affordable Care Act's debut week, and finishes off with two stocks poised to profit from Obamacare.
In the following video, Fool health-care analyst David Williamson talks to Dan and health-care bureau chief Max Macaluso about a surprising potential winner from Obamacare. While most investors are focused on pure health-insurance plays, David notes that Walgreen (WBA) is quietly setting itself up to benefit from the big increase in health-care demand that's likely to result from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. With millions of Americans getting insurance coverage for the first time, David believes that prescription spending will boost Walgreen's prospects, as drug coverage will help more people be able to afford drugs that they might otherwise have abandoned, such as VIVUS's (VVUS) obesity drug Qsymia.
David also discusses Walgreen's health-care clinic initiative, joining CVS Caremark (CVS 0.84%) and Rite Aid (RAD) in bringing health care directly to customers. Yet, Walgreen has a big scale advantage over Rite Aid and CVS Caremark, as it's poised to become the largest buyer of prescription drugs and medical products, and its deal with AmerisourceBergen (COR 0.20%) is helping it become more vertically integrated. David concludes that Walgreen has plenty of growth potential to produce solid returns for investors in the future.
