Three Specialty Health Companies Top Health Stock Performers During Past Three Months

By Clive Riddle, January 14, 2008

It’s been three months since we came to a national realization that the economy had truly tanked, and we were already deep in the midst of a recession. So, during the past three months, what health care stocks have risen out of the ooze to distinguish themselves in this economic funk?

Looking at the Dow Jones US Health Care Providers Index, which covers a mixture of health plans, administrative organizations and actual providers (the healthcare industry excluding pharama/biotech/medical supplies/equipment), the following companies made the top ten performing stocks for the past three months (analysis courtesy of bigcharts.com):

Symbol	Company Name	PercentChange
LCAV	Lca-Vision Inc	69.31%
CHCR	Comprehensive Care Corpora...	66.67%
INMD	Integramed Amer Inc	52.48%
AUSA	Access Plans Usa Inc	44.19%
HBSC	Human Biosystems	42.86%
AGP	Amerigroup Corp	32.86%
HMSY	Hms Hldgs Corp	30.78%
CBAI	Cord Blood Amer Inc	30.00%
DYII	Dynacq Healthcare Inc	22.87%
EMS	Emergency Medical Svcs Cor...	14.91%

Examining the top three performers, it’s interesting that all three are various types of long-established specialty health companies. Conventional wisdom would be that specialty services that are more elective or discretionary, and typically not associated with high levels of insurance coverage, would be poorly positioned for a deep recession. So much for conventional wisdom.

LCA-Vision (www.lasikplus.com) has been operating since 1986 (predecessor company) providing laser vision corrective services. On their home page, you’ll find a “Special Offer- $400 Off Lasik, $0 down, 0% interest for 24 months” and a button you can click: “Free Lasik Vision Exam, a $100 value, schedule online now.”

During the third quarter 2008, the 695 employee company yielded $37,000,000 in revenue, with estimated current annual revenue at $210,000,000. They own and operate 77 LasikPlus fixed-site laser vision correction centers in the U.S. plus d a joint venture in Canada. Their centers are currently located in 59 markets in 33 states.

Comprehensive Care Corporation (www.compcare.com) has been around since 1969, initially operating CareUnit substance abuse recovery services, and now having branched out during the past 14 years to serve as a “Specialty Health Care Company dedicated to the Integration of behavioral and medical care.”

Comprehensive Care, with 270 employees, took in $8,400,000 in revenue in thte third quarter 2008, with estimated current annual revenue at $35,000,000. The company is fully accredited by NCQA, and “manages lives nationwide, providing a wide range of services to health plans and employer groups for Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare members.”

IntegraMed America (www.integramed.com) states they are “a leading provider of specialty healthcare services in emerging, technology-focused segments. The company currently operates in two healthcare sectors, fertility care and vein treatment.” On their home page, you’ll find the logos for their two brands: Integramed Fertility Network and Vein Clinics of America.

Integramed has operated since 1985, now has 1,180+ employees and yielded $52,000,0000 in third quarter 2008 revenue, with estimated current annual revenue at $200,000,000.

The company states that their network of fertility 101 clinics perform about 25% of all in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures nationally through 13 contracted fertility centers, located in major markets across the U.S., and via their 2007 acquisition of Vein Clinics of America, they now serve 31 locations, providing non-surgical treatment of varicose veins.

So are companies specializing in laser surgery, behavioral health and fertility/vein treatment centers, what you would have picked to head the charts during the past three months?