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.

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.

Profitable complications. One analysis says that in some cases infections can actually help a hospital boost its bottom line, but naysayers disagree.

While no one is saying that hospitals try to induce infections to raise their bottom lines, one analysis says that the bottom line is healthcare providers do cash in when patients get infected in their facilities. Hamot Medical Center in Erie, Pa., is one hospital that has invested in infection prevention.