mommyjenlin

"It's the economy stupid", to quote a now famous phrase. Revenue in hospitals, clinics and physician offices are down. Looming Medicare cuts. Slow pay or no pay from Medicaid programs across the country. Increased self-pays. Lowered insurance reimbursements. As much as we like to believe otherwise, healthcare is not a discretionary purchase. And, there is little if any differentiation between medical providers. With so many individuals out of work, consumer confidence eroding and wage earners fearful of losing jobs, healthcare, whether doctors visits, medication purchases, or hospitalizations, are the last thing on peoples' minds. What is a healthcare provider to do? We all know the drill. Cut costs, lay-off staff, hiring freeze, decrease marketing. etc. All retrenchment strategies to "weather the storm." In most cases necessary steps. All fatal to the healthcare organization. When recovery ensues, which it will, you can't take advantage of new opportuni...

With the financial market meltdown, worldwide recession I say look for new mergers and closings in the hospital industry. Even though many are profitable, well at least slightly, that will go by the way side with investment income losses, higher numbers of uninsured, rising bad debt and lengthening delays in Medicaid payments from the states, the picture is bleak. Declining utilization and tighter reimbursement from managed care doesn’t help either. Oh yea, those pesky retail clinics won’t help either. I am surprised more hospitals don’t go that route, partner with their doctors and drive those babies out of their markets. Insuring the 45 million and growing uninsured is not in the cards fore the foreseeable future, not till 2010 at the earliest . President-elect Obama has his hands full. First priority is fixing the financial system, second is the economy, and third is healthcare. Without the first two, the third never happens. Hospitals are cutting back, but it is in marketing as a...