What the Debt Ceiling Crisis Means to Healthcare

"Uncertainty about third-party reimbursement is an ongoing risk that we factor into our ratings on U.S. corporate healthcare providers," says S&P's credit analyst Rivka Gertzulin. "Nine of the for-profit healthcare providers we rate garner the majority of their revenues from Medicare, and these companies will feel the biggest pinch from reductions in reimbursement or onerous changes to Medicare rules."

For many years Medicare has given healthcare financial leaders agita, and from the looks of this debate, that’s not going to change any time soon and it may worsen. Though the immediate debt ceiling situation has been waylaid, keep a watchful eye on this and bolster your contingency fund for the possibility of a large cut—better to be safe than sorry.