A new investment fund is launching to take advantage of the opportunities created by the challenges facing America’s healthcare system.
As the first of its kind within the for-profit retail medicine market, the National Healthcare Development Fund (NHDF) is designed to generate revenue from both its portfolio of real estate asset holdings and its operational interests in an emerging healthcare market that is thriving as a result of supply failing to meet an overwhelming and increasing demand.
The severity of the demand for access to medical care continues to escalate and is matched only by the substantial opportunity the burden creates for a company positioned to relieve the strain imposed on the nation’s healthcare system. The contributing factors perpetuating this dilemma are numerous, complex and practically irreversible. However, the root cause of the overwhelming discrepancy between supply and demand is academic; there are simply not enough primary care physicians (PCPs).
• 51 per cent fewer medical students are entering family practice - America Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
• PCPs are among the lowest paid doctors – Journal of the American Medical Academy
• As a result, by 2020 there will be 40,000+ (35 per cent) fewer PCPs than required to adequately care for the nation’s population – AAFP 2006 Workforce Study
Without adequate supply of an appropriate medical workforce, the demand for medical care has increased dramatically.
• Between 2010 and 2050, there will twice as many 65 year olds and older in the US – US Census Bureau
• Fewer PCPs are accepting new Medicare patients – Texas Medical Association
• The Affordable Care Act is adding 25,000,000 or more newly insured patients to an already overburdened healthcare system – US Department of Health and Human Services
• Average wait times to see a PCP have increased to 21 days – Merritt Hawkins
The increasing volume of patients has surpassed the capability of available practitioners to effectively care for the population. As a result, patients are directed from overcrowded doctors’ offices to the nearest emergency rooms for routine non-emergent care. Dr. David Seaberg, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians recently said "Emergency departments have become a health care safety net for everyone,” effectively transforming them into overcrowded after-hours clinics for patients who are unwilling to wait for an appointment with their PCP.
“The National Healthcare Development Fund is the first asset- and operationally-based hedge fund of its kind designed specifically for the FSED retail healthcare industry. Created to take advantage of this emerging market, NHDF will offer a unique investment alternative while providing a profitable solution to the nation’s healthcare challenges,” says Ronnie Hale, portfolio manager of NHDF.
The fund is currently raising USD30m for six FSED facilities. NHDF plans on opening several USD30m closed-end funds with up to six free standing emergency rooms in each.