Hospitals press on despite political uncertainties
WHEN 2017 opened, it seemed an almost foregone conclusion that the Affordable Care Act was finished and the fallout for patients, doctors and patients was full of unknowns.
Then it turned out that the law known as Obamacare was not finished after all.
So now in 2018, hospital administrators across the Houston region continue to endure the swirl of political hyperbole and the very real uncertainty of what the future holds for uninsured rates, patient access to care, reimbursement calculations to providers and the overall health care economy.
But they are no longer holding their breath. They can’t afford to.
“You can’t plan around the politics,” said Deborah Gordon, chief administrative officer for Memorial Health System, the largest not-for-profit health system in Southeast Texas and a leader in the annual Chron 100 roundup of top businesses in the area.
“I can’t change the politics, but what I can do is provide health services to the uninsured and under-insured in a community service,” she said.
Even though the ACA was not repealed outright, pieces were chipped away, and that has some worrying about a new spike in the uninsured rate. Houston has the highest uninsured rate in a state that has the highest uninsured rate in the nation.
Sid Sanders, senior vice president for construction/facilities at Houston Methodist, another perennial occupant on the Chronicle 100 list of top hospitals, could not agree more.
Strategic planning happens years in advance and must continue despite the whims and winds of current events.
“You maintain flexibility, you keep all of your options open, but at the end of the day you are in the people business,” Sanders said. “Something coming out of Washington might make it a little better or might make it a little worse, but it doesn’t change the fundamentals.”
In Houston. a few constants help provide an element of predictability: continued population growth and people getting older.
That means, health experts say, that health care will continue to be needed, though perhaps in a slightly different form in the future.
For instance, Gordon said, hospitals will have to be nimble and creative as they consider meeting the needs of both an aging population and also a younger one that is tech savvy. Virtual medicine and nurse helplines can help bridge a need that once was primarily met through large newbuild construction.
Sanders, too, said that while ongoing Houston Methodist construction projects will be completed through 2018 and early 2019, there could come a time after that to hit the pause button to reassess demographics, patient needs and the political landscape.
Another thing that is not changing is the demand for workers. Godon said that Memorial Hermann currently has 800 job openings across its network of facilities.
Economists have said that the region’s health care industry chugs along as one of the most reliable employment opportunities.