Wall Street Comes to Washington

Originally published by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), Conference Transcript, June 2004.

HSC's Ninth Annual Wall Street Comes to Washington Conference

In June 2004, the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) convened its ninth annual Wall Street Comes to Washington conference, bringing together equity analysts, health policy experts, and the Washington health policy community to discuss current market developments in health care and their implications for public policy. The event was moderated by HSC President Paul B. Ginsburg.

The conference featured a panel of equity analysts from both the buy side and sell side of Wall Street, along with Washington-based health policy analysts. Panelists included Norm Fidel of Alliance Capital Management, Roberta Goodman of Health Care Analytics, Robert Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, Robert Reischauer of The Urban Institute, Frank Sustersic of Turner Investments, and Gary Taylor of Banc of America Securities.

Health Care Cost and Premium Trends

The roundtable discussion was organized around two major themes. The first panel focused on health care cost and premium trends and new health insurance product designs. Panelists explored the trajectory of health care spending, the factors driving cost growth, and whether the recent slowdown in cost increases was likely to persist. They also discussed emerging health insurance product designs, including consumer-driven health plans and tiered-provider networks, and assessed whether these products could meaningfully alter health care cost trends.

Equity analysts offered perspectives informed by their work advising investors on publicly traded health care companies. Sell-side analysts, who advise brokerage clients, tended to be more specialized, with expertise in particular segments of the health care industry such as insurers or providers. Buy-side analysts, who work for institutional investors like mutual funds, brought broader cross-sector perspectives. The combination provided a rounded view of market dynamics that is often missing from purely policy-focused discussions.

Hospitals and Physicians in a Changing Marketplace

The second panel examined the changing competitive dynamics among hospitals and physicians. Topics included hospital consolidation trends, the shift of services from inpatient to outpatient settings, physician practice patterns, and the implications of growing physician specialization for health care costs and access. Panelists discussed how market forces were reshaping the relationships between hospitals, physicians, and health plans, and how these changes might affect the cost and quality of care for patients.

The conference format allowed for direct exchange between Wall Street analysts and health policy experts. Policy analysts on the panel contributed by connecting the market developments described by equity analysts to ongoing health policy debates in Washington, including discussions about Medicare reform, the regulation of health insurance markets, and strategies for addressing the growing number of uninsured Americans.

The Wall Street Comes to Washington conference series served as a distinctive platform for bridging the gap between financial market analysis and health policy research. By tapping equity analysts as a source of information about market trends, HSC provided its audience with insights into health care industry dynamics that complemented the organization's primary research based on community site visits and national surveys.

Sources and Further Reading

Center for Studying Health System Change, "HSC's Ninth Annual Wall Street Comes to Washington Conference," Conference Transcript (June 24, 2004).

Ginsburg, Paul B., "Controlling Health Care Costs," New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 351, No. 16 (October 2004).