We’ll be keeping a close eye on healthcare stocks over the next few weeks as the worst flu season in years sweeps across the United States. In addition to New York City declaring a flu epidemic, the mayor of Boston has also declared a flu emergency this week. The media is reporting that there is a widespread shortage of vaccine. More importantly, flu is a meaningful aspect of hospital admissions, particularly for the Medicare popular; Hedgeye Healthcare Sector Head Tom Tobin notes that the flu could represent an uptick in Medical Loss Ratios (MLRs) for Medicare Advantage Plans.
