How the Election Will Impact the Hospital Industry

Resources in Today's Episode:Modern Healthcare Article: Insurers will owe massive MLR rebates next year, even if 2020 is normalModern Healthcare Article: Michigan Blues partners with wellness center companyThe Changing Consumerism Landscape Webinar on November 18th at 12:00 PM CSTThe Value Crisis for Health Systems Webinar on November 19th at 12:00 PM CSTThe Case for a Post Health System Brand Webinar on November 20th at 12:00 PM CSTKey TakeawaysCOVID-19 Predications By the end of January, we could be seeing 2,000 to 2,500 deaths a day in the United States.There is a concern that the surge will continue to erode volumes in elective surgeries right so that preventative care elective procedures.Typically, providers see a surge in surgical volume in Q4, which seems extremely unlikely this year.Inpatient surgical procedures are down 18.6% from last year.How the Election Will Impact the Hospital IndustryThe financial devastation that hospitals and health systems are facing will continue, even if theirs is a second stimulus package approved.Whether the new stimulus bills flow directly to hospitals or to consumers who then have money for discretionary spending ­– both of those will be helpful.But just like the first round of the CARES Act, the second bill will not be enough to close the financial gap for hospitals.Ultimately the message for marketers and hospital executives is like the saying about how “God helps those who help themselves”, and the stimulus is not going to save us from a terrible financial year.In the payor space, people are not going from commercial to uninsured; they’re going from retail to Medicaid.Critical Areas Health Systems Need to be Thinking About A new competition is that of the top of the funnel – i.e., CVS or Humana rolling out clinics, or even Walmart Health and Optum.The top of the funnel may not be high dollar services, but it has a tremendous influence on where those patients go for all of their other services.Hospitals have to be a lot better at engaging consumers by delivering care on their terms.Guiding principle: Offer quick services to people for something they need to do and removes barriers wherever possible.