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August 28, 1996
Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth Street, N.W.
Judiciary Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention: Division of Investment Management
Re: Merrill Lynch Healthcare Fund, Inc.
Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 under the Securities
Act to the Registration Statement on Form N-1A
(Securties Act File No. 2-80150;
Investment Company Act File No. 811-3595)
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
Pursuant to Rule 497(j) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
(the "1933 Act"), Merrill Lynch Healthcare Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") hereby
certifies that:
(1) the form of prospectus and statement of additional information
that would have been filed pursuant to Rule 497(c) under the
1933 Act would not have differed from that contained in
Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 to the Fund's Registration
Statement on Form N-1A, constituting the most recent
amendment to the Fund's Registration Statement on Form N-1A;
and
(2) the text of Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 to the Fund's
Registration Statement on Form N-1A was filed electronically
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 26, 1996.
Very truly yours,
MERRILL LYNCH HEALTHCARE FUND, INC.
By: /s/ Robert Harris
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Robert Harris
Authorized Officer