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The changing healthcare marketplace

Sometimes healthcare and philanthropy run together, and other times they clash. Regardless, the two elephants will continue to take up a lot of the room in the upcoming years.

In addition, a variety of outside factors, often having little or nothing to do with healthcare or philanthropy, will continue to exert increasing pressure on both the philanthropic sector and the healthcare community. Money talked. Money still talks, loudly. Money will continue to talk, very loudly.

During the recent Association of Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) International Conference, Bill Littlejohn, CEO and senior vice president of Sharp HealthCare Foundation in San Diego, Calif., said the changing marketplace will have a big effect on any institution and its plans, evident in the following areas:

  • Aging population and tepid economic recovery. Look for: Increased service demand and decreased workforce supply;
  • Consumerism and focus on wellness and health. Look for: 17 percent of respondents in a 2013 survey offer a high-deductible plan as the only option for employees and 44 percent are considering it as their only option;
  • Transparency and continued pressure on reimbursement rates. Look for: A shift to lower-cost settings or providers. A shift to value-based purchasing. Consolidations; and,
  • Care delivery transformation and a new generation of employees and physicians. Look for: Physician integration/employment. Disruptive organizations and technology.