Sg2 Blog

For some, value-based care (VBC) is just a trendy term that replaces other expressions that have come before it (eg, population health, accountable care, managed care). It often connotes a payer contracting strategy that involves some degree of risk sharing and quality reporting, but for those providers who fully embrace it, it’s much more. VBC is a vital part of addressing the challenges th...

Direct-to-employer healthcare offerings benefit from proof-of-concept, and often your employees can provide an excellent test group. As health systems pursue employer engagement through direct-to-employer healthcare solutions, two of the first questions health systems marketing their services to local employers should expect are: Have you done this with your own employees? and How did it go? Organ...

Perhaps one of the hottest topics in healthcare today, Medicare Advantage (MA) is anticipated to have a monumental year in 2023. Not only do Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections indicate 2023 will be the year MA penetration surpasses the symbolic majority threshold of 50% nationally, but also major regulatory changes are set to be enacted or finalized that will impact both plan sponsors a...

How serious are health care systems about their consumer strategy? For decades, consumerism in health care has been a “nice to have” but not a “must have.” Health care as an industry didn’t value customer loyalty because they didn’t see those utilizing their services as customers, they saw them as patients—and patients require care. Thus, the health system...

We have been here before; some have succeeded, or at least gotten by, while many have failed. At what? Building an integrated model where the health system is both the provider and the payer. Lessons were learned, yet today’s economic uncertainty, rising costs and hospital financial performance coupled with major insurer reluctance to continue fee-for-service (FFS) rate increases have hospit...

Just because healthcare organizations open their doors doesn’t mean that patients will show up. This was especially true during the pandemic as a pause on elective surgeries, lack of a transactional care and revenue led healthcare systems to struggle. Add to that inflation and the increase of nontraditional disruptors — whether tech, private equity or venture capital-backed firms or pa...

Health systems and providers have participated in alternative payment models ranging from pay for performance to full risk across all payer classes. Not surprisingly, many participants have exited these models as the industry experiments while navigating the transition to value. Too many organizations have drawn conclusions about the efficacy of value-based care (VBC) based on incomplete informati...

Health systems and organizations face numerous evolving challenges when it comes to achieving strategic growth — be it due to changing competitive landscapes, workforce constraints, or access and capacity challenges, among many others. And while the terrain has become tumultuous, there is an essential constant that exists with great potential for differentiation and growth for any healthcare...

Health care providers in many markets have found themselves becoming a part of something larger than they originally signed up for. For hospitals and health systems to be sustainable during current workforce challenges and margin pressures, they are increasingly joining large networks to drive revenue. As a result, the health care industry is seeing record numbers of mergers and acquisitions, ofte...

Our opinions, beliefs and values influence our choice of words and phrases. However, we are not always conscious of the reverse — that our choice of language can influence our opinions, beliefs, and values. This is a highly overlooked factor in humans’ adaptability to change. When we use terms that have a significant and emotional meaning in one context to another, we bring that contex...