Obama Reelection Drives Up Hospital Stocks

Chip Kahn is president of the Federation of American Hospitals, and says hospitals have to learn to work with both political parties. Harry Butler/Nashville Health Care Council

The U.S. stock market has been on a steady slide since President Obama’s reelection. But shares in Nashville-based hospital chains spiked after Election Day. The head of the industry’s lobbying organization says that’s because the Affordable Care Act is good for business.

The President’s reelection gives hospitals some certainty that they’ll benefit from more people having insurance. Governor Mitt Romney had threatened to dismantle the health care overhaul, including the so-called individual mandate.

Chip Kahn is president of the Federation of American Hospitals. He lobbies congress on behalf of the Republican-leaning for-profit hospital business, but he says Democrats’ health care policies may be better for the bottom line.

“I mean, I vote Republican, and I just wish that the party had more of an orientation toward getting everybody covered. For me, it’s the one issue that sort of sticks in the craw a bit.”

Stock prices of the major hospital companies in Nashville spiked on Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen.

On Friday, Kahn was part of an industry panel giving the Nashville Health Care Council a “post-election” forecast. They said the Affordable Care Act should also continue to create opportunities for entrepreneurs.