Can Healthcare Be The Support During Market Volatility?
- Jack Borys
- Mar 24
- 2 min read
With all the recent market volatility, the healthcare industry has been a sector that investors can count on to keep their portfolios stable. Over the past year, the U.S. has added 156,000 jobs, but healthcare alone has added 370,000. If the healthcare industry was not included, the economy would be net negative for job creation. The question arises, can the healthcare sector keep the markets afloat while trade wars, inflation, and rising commodity prices fill the news?
While conversations about tariffs and Artificial Intelligence are creating uncertainty in the stock market, the healthcare industry has been able to be a strong hedge due to its steady demand and increase in servicing. Healthcare is bound to continue to expand, but some divisions may grow more than others. Specifically, low-cost healthcare is set to gain more than large hospitals and institutions.
The problem arising with healthcare comes from the capital. The 2025 tax-cut law included a reduction of more than $1 trillion for healthcare spending over the next decade. Medicaid took the biggest hit from the reduction. At the state level, budget prioritizations are the main concern, with each state making their decision on where healthcare spending ranks. Many of the states are feeling pressure to cut healthcare spending in order to balance out their budgets.
Even with the reduction of spending on healthcare, the sector’s growth is apparent. This is because of the age of the U.S. population. By 2034, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, older adults are expected to outnumber children and the 85 and over population is expected to nearly double by 2035. Because the 85 and over population is the most intensive cohort, it is impossible to ignore these numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notices that and has put healthcare at the top of the list for job creation, adding about 2 million jobs. The healthcare industry is projected to grow at an 8.4% rate, larger than the 7.5% projection from AI and tech.
Most of the jobs that healthcare is creating is coming from the cheap and labor intensive industries such as private living rooms and outpatient clinics. The older generation prefers to stay at home. Having jobs that cater to these homebound senior citizens is what is going to sprout the growth for the entire industry.
In the face of economic uncertainty, the healthcare sector stands out not just as a defensive play, but as a structurally supported engine of long-term growth. While policy headwinds and funding cuts may create short-term pressure, the underlying demand drivers, most notably an aging population and the shift toward cost-efficient, decentralized care, are simply too powerful to ignore. The future of healthcare will likely be less about large institutions and more about accessible, in-home, and outpatient services that align with both patient preferences and economic realities.
For investors, this means looking beyond traditional hospital systems and toward the segments quietly reshaping the industry. Ultimately, even as markets fluctuate and headlines shift, healthcare’s role as a stabilizing force appears not only intact, but increasingly essential.
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