How many times have you looked at a stock chart and thought, If only I had bought shares five years ago? If we all had time machines, we would be millionaires. But we have not had the luxury of playing Monday morning quarterback with our investments. Until now, that is…

Thanks to the recent stock market crash, we have the opportunity to pick up seriously cheap shares that were flying high until mid-September. In some cases, this is a chance to hop into a time machine and buy these stocks before they became household names. Until recently, these stocks were the darlings of Wall Street. And when the market stabilizes, these stocks could quickly return to favor…

There are few defensive plays like health care – after all, people don’t stop getting sick, and health benefits aren’t something that cost-conscious employers can cut without enduring the wrath of angry employees. But despite health care’s promise for weary investors, the sector hasn’t been immune from the losses seen across the board in the last year.

As a whole, the health care sector has fallen almost 30% since the beginning of 2008. Health insurers have had it worse – these names dropped 40% in the last quarter alone.

If you’re wondering why one of the most regularly profitable sectors in the market has taken such a beating, you’re not alone. Billionaire Carl Icahn is among the many investment pros that have seen their health care losses mount this year. So are Warren Buffett and George Soros.

Explains BusinessWeek’s Ben Steverman:

“On a basic level, investors are worried that Democrat-led health care reform in Washington is going to shake up the health care sector and hurt profits. But it’s actually more complicated than that. The U.S. health care system is astonishingly complex and few people know exactly what President-elect Barack Obama may propose nor what Congress would approve. And few can predict how that legislation (if it passes at all) would impact particular subsectors, industries and individual companies.”

That doesn’t mean that moves in Washington won’t impact the health care sector – they will, though not necessarily in a bad way. Analysts recognize that whatever plans are put into place will most likely involve the private sector. Government changes could actually be good for scores of health care companies, especially health insurers.

Buying into the Health Care Comeback