Slow: budget danger ahead. CMS says 10-year healthcare spending to reach $4.3 trillion by 2017, but execs seek longer-term planning to curb costs.

The CMS delivered its latest projections last week, showing healthcare spending will double in 10 years, with just a small portion of the growth being blamed on aging baby boomers. Many saw gloom in the forecast, but one exec saw a bright side for home healthcare, expected to be among the fastest-growing sectors. "It shows that the industry is being valued as a promising alternative," says Amanda Thomas, left.

Nowhere to run, or hide. Current economic downturn may exacerbate hospitals' weakness with buildings, technology costs, reimbursements.

As the economy moves through what many believe is a recession, healthcare won't be immune, experts say. "I don't know much in the economy that is recession-proof, and I don't think healthcare is either," says W. David Bradford, left, a Medical University of South Carolina economics professor. Because of the current economic conditions, some systems are rethinking where they put their money.