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Healthcare Trends Report 2023 - Summary
Reading time: about 5 min
Executive Summary
Our first Annual Trend Report is a two-fold research endeavor to explain the interdependency of why humans are the cornerstone and driving force behind the products, services, experiences and strategies we create to solve customer needs and desires for the healthcare sector. Moreover, it is the prerogative and opportunity of CMS leadership, technologists, and policymakers alike to proactively plan and use prospective hindsight to strategize how the future might unfold and what measures could be taken to protect beneficiaries and the welfare of CMS. This report is a tool to test and plan those assumptions with real-time challenges and healthcare market changes.
Firstly, to measure and track the CCSQ community's overall Human-Centered Design (HCD) experiences and maturity by practicing primary research and engaging with HCD Center of Excellence (HCD CoE) services. The HCD Center of Excellence (HCD CoE) surveyed the CCSQ community to access and understand supportive leadership, recruitment, resources, training and the use of HCD methods in the organization's application towards successful research goals that deliver on building customer trust. The findings provide encouragement and direction for opportunities for improvement to accelerate CCSQ’s HCD muscle.
The second component of the report is secondary research, an interpretative exercise; a series of curated interconnected healthcare topics that convey the current complexity of multiple factors, market forces, societal shifts, consumer demand, the human condition and historical events that impact contemporary life; aging, insurance, healthcare workers, COVID impact, home care, American Rescue Plan Act and technology. We have analyzed these trends creating a synopsis; visioning future predictions and directional opportunities that ultimately drives and challenges the six CMS strategic pillars; advance equity, expand access, engage partners, drive innovation, protect programs and foster excellence.
Trends Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to shift up to $265 billion worth of care services for Medicare beneficiaries from traditional facilities to the home without reducing quality or access. Care at Home could improve the quality of care and patient experience, reduce preventable adverse health events, and offer services such as primary care, outpatient-specialist consults, emergency-department and urgent care, hospice, and outpatient mental and behavioral health visits. CMS stakeholders could benefit, although the types of benefits and costs would vary. The focus should be on healthy aging and recognizing the potential for many to contribute, with six shifts including investing in the promotion of healthy aging, improving measurements of health and data, and scaling interventions. Governments can consider implementing four specific shifts to rebuild central public health workforces and support the rebuilding of local public health and healthcare delivery workforces. Insurer participation and new product offerings have accelerated, with managed-care plans growing steadily and consumer cost burdens reduced. Healthcare profit pools are expected to grow, with some segments expecting higher growth than others. However, increased labor costs and administrative expenses will reduce payer EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), with providers pushing for reimbursement rate increases resulting in incremental rate increases for the commercial segment.