Health Care, Up Close
Research for Online Investors

by John Dalt

10/01/09

I am sitting in a hospital waiting room watching the market punish the bulls.  Brother-in-law Bob is under the knife this morning with open-heart surgery.

His mother passed away at a young age from a heart attack.  He had a bad one 12 years ago, that resulted in open-heart surgery.  Now it seems the by-passes have become clogged and need to be replaced.  They say it will take up to five hours.  That is a long time to have your heart in someone else’s hands, but in a softer moment I would tell my wife she has had mine for over 22 years.  Sis’s family is all here, including son-in-law Monte.  He is a optometrist, but I always introduce him as a proctologist.  He is a nice guy, and takes my sick sense of humor in stride.

Ken Lewis is leaving Bank of America (BAC) by the end of the year. Mr. Lewis was becoming a distraction after accusations of not sharing important information concerning the Merrill Lynch purchase with shareholders. This will allow Bank of America to “move on” and leave Lewis to fight the legal battles. Andrew Cuomo, N.Y. Attorney General, is moving to depose board members and search for any headlines. The New York Times has the article, “Chief to Depart at Year’s End.”

Ford announced that sales fell 5.1% in September after the cash for clunkers program ended. This was predictable, as we discussed in our article, "Cash for Clunkers". The federal program spent $3 billion dollars to push demand forward, not increase demand. GM has restarted some factories to replenish dealer inventory. Will they close again in December?

Michael Moore, “Capitalism: A Love Story” loves to tell us everything that is wrong with the U.S. Mr. Moore extols the virtue of a state directed economy, except he lives in the U.S. Could it be he likes freedom, however little is left. I wonder why he doesn’t move to Cuba, he likes their health care. Why not move to Venezuela, imagine he and Chavez, and all the fun they could have.  Of course dictators would tire of his B.S. quickly and move aggressively to 'educate' him.

Mr. Moore doesn’t always practice what he preaches, maybe he is a greedy capitalist, too! In making his latest film, he bypassed one of the unions to hire non-union labor, because he believed the talented documentary crews were not union members. He also ‘forgot’ to provide these workers with health insurance. I am looking forward to the lawsuit by the union and picketing at theatres. Probably won’t happen.

Brother-in-law Bob is out of surgery, all is ok. The doctor and team did three bypasses, sis was able to see him within 45 minutes after surgery. He was awake! Modern medicine is truly amazing. Which raises many questions, one obvious is: Why do foreigners come to the U.S. to practice medicine? Bob’s heart surgeon spoke perfect Indglish.

The hospital is a marvel. It is new, built in the suburbs, amenities for today’s customer. A nice restaurant, the waiting area has plug-ins and wireless for laptops. TV’s on every wall tuned to 24hr news channels. Very impressive, I just hope not to come back for awhile.  If Oh! Bama care passes, within five years it will look like the old downtown hospitals with human debis showing up for 'free' health care.  I would rather the hospital look profitable and full of people that want to help you, than the inside of a Dept. of Social Services office.  Full of flotsom, jetsom and surly bureaucrats that punch a clock, and complain all day.

I  am sorry for the distractions, with two funerals and a hospital stay this week, it has been hard to concentrate on the market. It appears the market is catching one of those nasty fall colds. We will see in the next couple of days if we can shake it, but the signs are ominous. It could turn into the flu and have us on our back. I am reminded of the TV commercial a few years ago, “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

The information presented in this newsletter is based on generally available news releases, corporate filings, current events, interviews and the editor’s opinions.  It may contain errors and you should not make investment decisions based solely on what you believe you have read here.  Do your own research, it is your money.  If you lose it, it is your responsibility, not ours or your grandmothers!  The editor may or may not have a position in any securities discussed.  The editor may have held a position in a security earlier, or in the future.

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