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Technology Stocks : Healtheon Corporation (HLTH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (651)	4/26/2000 2:20:00 PM
From: Grandk	Respond to of 861

One can only hope!

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (651)	4/26/2000 9:04:00 PM
From: Grandk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 861

News: Clark: Healtheon/WebMD To Make Money By PHIL GALEWITZ, AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) - Internet visionary Jim Clark said Wednesday his latest venture, Healtheon/WebMD, will make money by the end of 2000, more than a year ahead of most forecasts. But analysts and even the health care Internet firm's chief executive have their doubts. Healtheon lost $288 million last year on $102 million in revenues, and most observers expect losses until 2002. Clark, who founded Silicon Graphics and Netscape before creating Healtheon in 1996, said the fledgling company would be his last venture into health care. ``There are a lot more efficient ways to put your money to work,'' Clark said in New York at an Internet health conference sponsored by Rising Tide Studios, the parent company of the Internet magazine Silicon Alley Reporter. Clark, a Healtheon/WebMD board member, said he was surprised by how many doctors and health insurance plans have resisted efforts to streamline their operations, particularly his plan to link all the components of the health industry on the same Internet platform. After soaring last year, the company's stock has lost more than 70 percent of its value in the past three months as Internet issues overall swooned and analysts questioned when Healtheon might ever make money. The stock has also come under increased pressure after six large health maintenance organizations said last month they would work together to process insurance claims and conduct other functions on the Internet. Clark said Healtheon would turn a profit and have about $1 billion in revenues* if four pending acquisitions are completed this year*. Those acquisitions include Medical Manager Corp., a provider of medical-practice software, and CareInsite, its Web-based unit, and of Envoy Corp., a medical transaction company. Jeff Arnold, Healtheon/WebMD CEO, refused to say when his Atlanta-based company would turn a profit, or specifically comment on Clark's forecast. But he said it would be 2001 before the pending acquisitions would improve the company's bottom line. Analysts were more blunt. ``I would be surprised if they would be profitable by the end of the year,'' said Stephen Fitzgibbons, an analyst with Hambrecht & Quist. With all the company's recent deals, he said it was difficult to make predictions. ``It's like throwing darts blindfolded.'' Claudine Singer, an analyst with Internet research firm Jupiter Communications, said she's bullish on Healtheon's prospects but sees profitability more likely in 2001, at the earliest. Clark's grand plan to get doctors, insurers, hospitals and patients all connected via the Internet still remains a dream, she said. ``There is no proof of the pudding yet. There is a lot more talk and structure than there is action.'' With Healthon's stock way off its high of $126 last spring, Clark last month said he would buy $200 million more stock in the company. Healtheon shares fell 683/4 cents to $18.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market Wednesday. Clark's Healtheon merged with consumer health Internet site WebMD in May 1999 to form Healtheon/WebMD. dailynews.yahoo.com