Many Americans are worried about how their health care will change under the Affordable Care Act. Lawrence Fink, the chairman and chief executive of BlackRock, one of the largest money management firms, is worried about those worries.
“What does that mean to consumer behavior?†Mr. Fink said during DealBook’s Opportunities for Tomorrow Conference on Tuesday. Healthcare.gov, the website where consumers can buy health coverage on the new consumer exchanges, has been something of a black eye for the Obama administration. Only a few hundred people reportedly signed up for coverage on the first day the site was up and running.
But Mr. Fink told the audience that the financial implications of the act were potentially more significant than the “noise about whether the website works or not.â€
“The reality is, health care represents 18 percent of our economy,†he said.
Mr. Fink also said he was disappointed by the announcement in September by the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, that the government would not yet taper its bond buyback program, adding that he thinks it should begin doing so “as soon as possible.â€
Mr. Fink said he didn’t think the market would be “that upset†if the Fed began a $5 billion or $10 billion “thematic†tapering from its current $85 billion a month program.
