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Healthcare

A High-Potential Healthcare Investment

January 13, 2010
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A High-Potential Healthcare Investment

If you’re a widow or an orphan, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) might be the right investment for you.  It’s hard to imagine the juggernaut being pushed off its slow but steady upward course. On the other hand, if you’re looking for more rapid growth, you might want to look at another company in the health industry, a company that I recently labeled “The Next Pfizer,”  (Both companies fill your medicine cabinet, but Pfizer (PFE) is far more dependent on pharmaceuticals, and that’s where the faster growth is today. The company is Warner Chilcott (WCRX), and it was first recommended...

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The Story of Johnson & Johnson

January 12, 2010
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The Story of Johnson & Johnson

Until last week, the name Casey Johnson meant nothing to me.  But last week Casey Johnson died, at age 30, and in doing that, she caught my attention. Casey was a diabetic, and while that may have contributed to her early death, it appears that the main cause was living the high life.  Casey never had to work, and for that I pity her. Casey’s father is Robert Wood Johnson IV.  He owns the New York Jets, but he just lost a daughter, so he has my sympathy; the loss of a child is a terrible thing. In any...

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Healthcare Feedback from Readers

December 9, 2009
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Healthcare Feedback from Readers

Last Monday I published what I feared was a relatively unfocused column, touching on medical insurance, health care in Massachusetts, obesity and swimming … and tried to wrap it all up in the mantle of “personal responsibility.”  I wasn’t especially proud of the organization of the whole, but I was proud of some of the ideas. And I was happy to see that you liked them, too.  The quantity and quality of your feedback was impressive.  Below are some of the most notable responses. “Your comments on the current Health Care bill are right on! “It totally ignores actions...

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My Favorite Companies Past and Present

November 25, 2009
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My Favorite Companies Past and Present

Many companies became extinct during the 1930s, but the companies that survived helped to build the U.S. into the greatest industrial nation to date. I’m kind of a history buff, and I truly enjoy reading about the origins of companies and how they evolved. In addition to annual reports, Wikipedia usually provides an interesting history of old companies. It is surprising how many of our current U.S. companies were founded more than 150 years ago. One of the oldest is Bank of NY, founded in 1792. CIGNA, JP Morgan, DuPont, Colgate Palmolive, Hartford Financial, Procter & Gamble, Tiffany, Pfizer,...

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Two Favorite Health Care Companies

November 2, 2009
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Two Favorite Health Care Companies

One of the important objectives of health care reform is to increase the efficiency of the current system from top to bottom. Cutting costs and waste could save billions and reduce everyone’s health care costs considerably. My screening process has led me to a unique company that could play a big role in cutting health care costs. HMS Holdings (HMSY) provides cost-reducing services to healthcare providers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) and government sponsored health care programs, such as Medicaid and the Veterans Health Administration. HMS Holdings reduces costs for Medicaid by making sure claims are accurately paid, billing problems...

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