Will the Economy Harm Healthcare?; Winners and Losers; Payors Tighten the Screws; Transactions and Sectors; Will There Be Increases in Regulation and Investigation?
For a long time, many people viewed the healthcare economy as somewhat immune to federal economic problems. Certainly, a percentage of the healthcare industry is not impacted directly by changes in the federal economy. For example, to the extent that a provider is reliant in part on Medicare and Medicaid, and these programs do not change their rates in the short term due to a federal economic slow down, this is a part of a provider’s revenue that is unimpacted by changes in the federal economy. However, to the extent one relies upon private pay, co-payments, and commercial payors for payment, these reimbursements can easily be impacted by the national economy. Further, as payors receive more pressure from employers to cut healthcare costs, this also negatively impacts reimbursements. Thus, it may be fair to assert that 30 percent to 40 percent of a typical provider’s revenues should be unimpacted in the short run by changes in the federal economy. However, over time, a significant perc
