Necessity doesn't protect a cash flow — the payment rail does. CRG examines why insured patients are now driving most hospital bad debt, why the "essential vs. discretionary" split misleads investors, and what it means to underwrite health care and wellness to the obligor, not the top line.
Inflation is back in the news. Same argument as always — gas, groceries, tariffs, what the Fed does next. The May 2026 CPI gave everyone plenty to chew on: prices up 4.2% over the year, the fastest in three years, energy up more than 23%. That's the inflation people feel at the pump and the checkout.
There's a bigger one, and it barely shows up in that conversation. And that's the problem.
Look at the official medical-care index and health…
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