Lifting the lid on Growth

This is from some previous research of mine on another thread, which appears related to Lidco, and I have adapted it accordingly -

I want to touch on the recent Medicare legislation, and how that new legislation might affect the likes of Lidco going forward. From president Bush's speech as he signed the Medicare legislation -

"The Medicare system will now help seniors and their doctors diagnose health problems early, so they can treat them early and our seniors can have a better quality life," Bush said of the law's cardiovascular disease and diabetes screening coverage. "Modern health care is not complete without prevention—so we are expanding preventive services under Medicare." (end)

There are a number of provisions in the Act, such as early diabetes screening and the chronic care improvement programs, that could accelerate the growth in the respective markets of near patient testing and monitoring. As a whole, the Act is a strong endorsement of the potential benefits associated with more proactive treatment of people with cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. In my opinion only, the presence of the chronic care improvement programs in the Act, appears to create some potentially significant opportunities for near patient testing and monitoring companies such as Lidco going forward into 2005 and beyond, and so it is only of interest to those who have a longer term investment horizon. However, I do expect to see some 'positioning', and further corporate activity during 2004, in order to gain exposure to the various markets that will benefit from both the legislation and increased prevalence.


From the Medcare bill -

`(D) THRESHOLD CONDITION- The term `threshold condition' means a chronic condition, such as congestive heart failure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or other diseases or conditions, as selected by the Secretary as appropriate for the establishment of a chronic care improvement program.

`(2) ELEMENTS OF CARE MANAGEMENT PLANS- A care management plan for a targeted beneficiary shall be developed with the beneficiary and shall, to the extent appropriate, include the following:

`(A) A designated point of contact responsible for communications with the beneficiary and for facilitating communications with other health care providers under the plan.

`(B) Self-care education for the beneficiary (through approaches such as disease management or medical nutrition therapy) and education for primary caregivers and family members.

`(C) Education for physicians and other providers and collaboration to enhance communication of relevant clinical information.

`(D) The use of monitoring technologies that enable patient guidance through the exchange of pertinent clinical information, such as vital signs, symptomatic information, and health self-assessment.

`(E) The provision of information about hospice care, pain and palliative care, and end-of-life care.


I have only just started looking at the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, but it appears that Lidco could be perhaps a beneficiary of the above improvements, which specifically mention the area of chronic disease that Lidco is addressing. For those interested, here is link to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate) - Click link number 5 -

Please conduct your own research, as I could be either wrong or inaccurate, and please bear in mind that the time frame above is for 2005 onwards, and operating in large markets are not an automatic guarantee of success. I hold shares in Lidco.

Regards wan ;-)