Making the near-term future for IHI all the more important to consider is that Reid’s refusal to consider repealing the medical device could cause problems within in his party. Last year, 17 Democrat senators whom voted in favor of Obamacare penned a letter to Reid asking for the tax to be repealed. At the time, the roster of senators to sign the letter to Reid includes both a sitting senator and a senator-elect from Massachusetts, a senator-elect from Indiana, both Minnesota senators, both New York senators, and one each from Michigan, Nebraska and New Hampshire.
Digging deeper into the situation, it is easy to see why IHI could be in focus in the coming weeks. Two of the ETF’s top-10 holdings are based in Minnesota. Two are based in Massachusetts. Another is based in Indiana, another in Michigan and two are based in California. With 2014 right around the corner it is worth noting that Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota will have races where sitting Democratic senators must defend seats.
IHI has a smaller, equal-weight rival in the form of the SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (NYSEArca: XHE), which has gained nearly 21% this year.
iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.