The latest results of Healthcare Finance News’ NewsMonitor poll show that nearly twice as many respondents predict 2007 will produce a better bottom line than 2006.
In January, we asked readers “Do you expect your own healthcare organization to produce a better bottom line in 2007 than it did in 2006?”
Fifty-four percent of the respondents said they were optimistic about the new year, while 30 percent predicted worse results for 2007.
Another 16 percent said it was still too early to tell what was going to happen to the bottom line.
Robert Blinch-Edwards, the executive director of Healthcare Sarasota, a Flordia not-for-profit, cited a number of factors that would create more pressure for financial managers.
“Physicians are more organized,” he noted. “Medicare rates are being cut, new expensive procedures…”
Blinch-Edwards also counted increased costs for biotechnology, drugs and hospital charges as hurdles to financial stability, as well as the demographics – an aging population and increased demand for geriatric, outpatient and catastrophic care.
Other respondents added indigent care, tougher contracts and increased utilization to the list.
John Kraft, director of managed care with Elkhart General Healthcare System, felt too many variables remain up in the air to make solid predictions.
“Continuing decreased reimbursement from governmental and managed care sources may or may not be offset by increased efficiencies from technology and process (cost) review,” he wrote. “Increased governmental regulatory controls and managed care denials further decrease reimbursement and add cost to the healthcare process.”
Kraft said the public will soon be forced to make some major decisions about healthcare.
“The big question is how much more cost can be squeezed out of the heathcare system before actual services are affected. Another big question is who will pay for the continuing technology and is healthcare being properly and efficiently utilized in the U.S. today,” he said. “Reimbursement sources are quickly being exceeded by the public expectation of the delivery of healthcare services in the U.S. The healthcare community will continue to be challenged by these factors in the years to come.”