World class Remote Care Management during a recession? Here’s how.

Potential Recession Impact on Health care Industry and Medical Providers

Recessions can impact a facility or provider’s bottom-line, patient care and health outcomes. Leading research shows the key factors that can impact the healthcare industry during a recession are:

• Insurance Loss Increases.
  Job loss increases during a recession often cause employer-based insurance coverage loss. Most patients will not seek (necessary) care without coverage.
• Price Sensitivity and Reduced Ability to Pay Increases.
  As a recession takes hold, many patients’ price sensitivity increases – regardless of insurance coverage status. Cost-sensitivity, and reduced ability to pay, during a recession makes patients more selective in utilization of care. More users opt out of non-emergent office visits and in-person care during a recession.
• Sensitivity to Costs of Care – Patients Opting Out.  
  ‍Patients’ ability to pay for non-urgent needs decreases, causing patients to seek out less care.
• Sensitivity to Associated Costs of Care – Patients Opting Out.
  During a recession, patients often evaluate the hassle factor costs of getting care. Many opt out to save time and costs of getting to the doctor (transportation, drive time, parking), as well as sensitivity to costs of care itself.
• Unpaid Medical Bill Increases.
  During a recession, medical bills often are not paid or not paid in full even when patients do seek care. People cannot afford to pay for the in-person care they use.‍
• Staffing Shortages Take A Toll.
  ‍Staffing shortages have plagued the medical system since COVID, which has impacted how many patients can be seen and paid for.

Remote Care Management is Recession Proof

Remote care management however, is recession proof – and actually alleviates many of these factors.

• Most patients are Medicare beneficiaries – not employer-based insurance coverage beneficiaries.
• Continuity of coverage and reimbursement, an ongoing patient/provider relationship and established care that is remote – means no extra costs or hassles.
• Remote patient programs keep health status improvements and health outcomes on track.
• Medsien’s remote care management takes the staffing burden off of practices.  

Causation and impact of a recession on the health care industry or health care providers will vary. But this is primarily a commercial insurance problem – especially for remote patient care. The majority of patients in remote care management programs are Medicare patients. Public insurance beneficiaries’ coverage (e.g. Medicare, ACA) is not job dependent. Patients’ coverage is consistent and reliable, so their care is not disrupted by recession job loss. Disproportionate reliance on private/job related insurance can be problematic during a recession. But, the Medicare population is not affected by recession based coverage changes. Remote care management programs typically remain covered and reimbursed.  

No new cost, pricing or access barriers are introduced during a recession with remote care management. Remote care management is not subject to many of these price sensitivity and added cost burden barriers because it’s remote and therefore home based, covered, reimbursable and the care is always available.

With remote patient programs, the provider/patient connection is already established – and the medical care and remote care management is ongoing. Because established care is happening at home, there is no added burden – cost or logistical – on patients to maintain the continuity of care on their own. Remote care management programs are services designed to engage the patient, build relationships and improve outcomes and quality of care for patients.  

During a recession, people often delay expensive or “optional” care and procedures – impacting their health status. You often see an increase in stress related symptoms and ailments. reduction in preventive care services, and increase in chronic disease. Ongoing remote patient care management programs make patients more likely to stay out of the hospital, keeping health outcomes up and costs and severity of illness down. Remote care management services allow for a continuity of care, seamless ongoing patient care management and improved health status because of how they are designed and how they innately work and run.

Health care staffing shortages are not impacting remote care management services. With staffing shortages, many retired nurses actually return to work for remote care management programs. Health care providers often are drawn to working on remote patient programs because they too can work from home and develop unique relationships with each patient. The staffing shortage does not hurt remote care management program staffing. Often it’s a draw.

Medsien Remote Care Management Programs Remain Unchanged And Unaffected By A Recession

Remote care management is not subject to the typical stressors that impact health care and health status during a recession. Remote care management services actually help alleviate some of that stress – and are designed to ensure this every day. Medsien remote care management programs deliver high quality, fully integrated remote care management services, not impacted by recession and other economic trends and factors. The technology that fuels our remote care management programs and services, our unique staffing model and the way our programs are designed to make getting, giving and receiving care easier – – helps our remote care management programs to build relationships, ensure continuity and therefore better health outcomes, and make it recession proof from a financial as well as quality of care perspective.

Medsien‘s world class remote care management programs in particular, are immune to these biggest recession concerns. Our clients, (and their staff and patients) can be sure that the suite of essential remote care management services will continue to benefit patients and reimburse practices with no change. Our remote care programs ensure reliability, efficiency and compassion in the way care is delivered. This is recession proof.