nurses at Northwell Health have treated nearly 40,000 covid-19 cases, more than any other American provider. But Michael Dowling, who runs New York state’s largest hospital firm, is not triumphant. “This crisis has humbled us,” he sighs. The same goes for much of America’s $4trn health-care sector.
For most of the industry, America’s biggest, covid-19 may prove less rewarding as the pandemic unfolds. Reduced spending on health care accounted for nearly half of the 1.2% quarter-on-quarter drop inin the first three months of the year. Things could get worse. Even Regeneron and Gilead are not all they are trumped up to be.
America’s health businesses face two questions. How quickly can hospitals return to normal-ish—and with them spending on ailments other than the coronavirus? And will the crisis reshape the industry, which is bigger and more Byzantine than in other rich countries?