How The 2020 Presidential Election Could Impact Health Care Stocks

With the 2020 presidential election right around the corner, investors are making predictions on the sectors and stocks that could see big changes. One sector that could change dramatically based on the next occupant of the White House is health care.

Potential Winners Under Trump: Hospital stocks and private insurance stocks were under pressure earlier in 2020, with several Democratic candidates running on a Medicare-for-all plan.

A win by Trump could boost hospital stocks and private insurers going into 2021.

Investors should also consider the outcome a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could have on these stocks: the ACA pays hospitals for some ER visits that weren’t previously covered.

Large hospital company HCA Healthcare HCA is an owner of hospitals that could benefit from a Trump win.

UnitedHealth Group UNH is the country’s largest private health care insurer and could benefit from Trump's re-election. 

Related Link: 3 Sector ETFs To Play For A Biden-Harris Win

Potential Winners Under Biden: Former Vice President Joe Biden has proposed lowering the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60.

Humana HUM, a large Medicare provider, could get a boost from Biden’s plan. Shares rallied earlier this year when Biden won the Democratic nomination over others who favored government-sponsored Medicare for all plans.

CVS Health CVS was upgraded by Piper Sandler in September as a potential winner from a Biden presidency.

The company owns Medicare provider Aetna and could see $700 million in revenue growth from a Biden win, the analyst said. 

Medical equipment stocks are also a sector to watch if Biden wins.

Potential Winners Either Way: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a shift in many health care operations online. This includes hospital visits, with the growth of telemedicine.

A potential winner under either presidency could be Teladoc Health TDOC, the largest player in this growing market.

Both presidential candidates have said they favor lowering the cost of prescription drugs for Americans. This could be bad news for the larger pharmaceutical companies.

Another potential winner under either Trump or Biden could be the recent IPO GoodRx Holdings GDRX.

Whether the president works on lowering drug costs, GoodRx is likely to benefit from consumers constantly looking for the cheapest prices on prescription drugs.

Benzinga file photo by Dustin Blitchok.