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Medicare Cuts Pose Credit Risks For Some Health Care Companies

From the WSJ Health Blog: "Certain industries stand to face the sharpest cuts in government money, Moody’s says, namely home health, as well as oxygen and durable equipment companies. Hospice care, nursing homes and specialty hospitals are also expected to lose millions off what they receive now." 

A risk of building business models around chasing Medicare largesse is that this year's generosity has a habit of becoming next year's cost-cutting priority.  Better to focus on adding long-term customer value, assuming that what Medicare gives with one hand is soon taken back with the other. 

Now might be a good time for a cash-rich hospital or health system to round out their service portfolio with a couple of newly-inexpensive acquisitions.

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