With Inauguration Day only a week away, anticipation about Barack Obama's first 100 days are reaching fever pitch.
And with the economy and the banking system facing its worst slowdown since FDR took office, the expectations are lofty, to say the least.
As you know, the aspect of Obama's budget-busting trillion-dollar stimulus plan getting the most attention is clearly the infrastructure plan. Cities all over the nation are getting ready for these so-called shovel-ready projects.
But there’s a somewhat overlooked feature of this stimulus: the stethoscope-ready programs. Don’t know about it? Obama is pledging $50 billion to take medical records from the costly filing-cabinet to the computer.
And the Fast Money traders thinks you can game it.
It’s possible that stocks like AthenaHealth which makes internet-based software to organize billing and diagnosis records, could be just what the doctor ordered for investors.
Essentially AthenaHealth helps doctors get paid more money, faster with less hastle, according to AthenaHealth CEO Jonathan Bush. “Half of all doctors are frustrated by all the paperwork. There’s so much crap you have to do to get paid.”
Specifically, this firm digitizes all those forms you fill out at the doctor's office and the forms they fill out to get reimbursed by either your insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid. Of course software already exists for this type of thing but Athenahealth is web based.
"Our business model is not dependent on some goody train coming out of Washington," adds Bush. "We're already positioned to be very profitable."
In fact, Bush tells us Athena finds doctors are actually more willing to take Medicaid patients even if they get paid less, just because the volume of paperwork is reduced.
And that why AthemaHealth is the first of Fast Money's 100 trades for the first 100 days. Check back again tomorrow.
