8 Executive Key Takeaways from JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

Mike Serbinis, CEO of League

JPMorgan was buzzing this year. Part of that is post-Covid return to conference excitement. Part of that is the fact that healthcare has never been more important. While the economy was challenged in 2022, investors are ready to do business in healthcare. The stakes are getting higher and the opportunity in front of us is massive.

Pete Anevski, CEO of Progyny

People who are currently struggling with infertility, and those who are looking to start or expand their families, want to work for employers who understand that access to fertility and family-building benefits are a necessity, not just a ‘nice-to-have’.  

Fertility and family building is a growing need for many and according to the CDC and Family Equality, 1 in 5 women are impacted by infertility, and 63 percent of LGBTQ+ individuals will use assisted reproductive technology, foster care, or adoption to become parents. Companies that are looking to prioritize DEI goals and stay competitive in this tight labor market need to offer fertility and family-building benefits – presently 45 percent of workers look for a company that offers them.  

Value-based care is growing in prominence across the healthcare industry – a trend that will continue in 2023. With projected medical cost increases (currently they’re expected to go up more than 5 percent for employees, according to a recent Mercer survey), individuals now more than ever will be seeking out companies with comprehensive healthcare benefits that cover every aspect of their lives, including their fertility.

John Erwin, CEO of Carenet Health

Healthcare is currently in a wait-and-see environment due to ongoing challenges relating to fallout from the pandemic and real concerns about a recession. There continues to be a major backlog of deferred procedures, along with extreme burnout for providers and clinical staff. Primary care continues to be viewed as an important engagement and quarterback for the health systems, while insurance costs are increasing at a record pace. 

Mick Mazour, president of Carenet Health

Outsourcing in healthcare continues to be an area of focus for CFOs, as financial strains relating to revenue, cost, and labor linger. Companies positioned squarely in the nucleus of stress points are resonating in the market, and when it comes to healthcare, the human touch combined with digital solutions are favorable for healthcare payers, providers, and partners.

BJ Schaknowski, CEO of symplr

I have never seen a more prominent acknowledgment of the need for technology adoption than I did while speaking with software and health system executives at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. There is an overwhelming sense that if they do nothing, they might survive the next year, but if they do something they could thrive despite volatile macroeconomic conditions. The major hurdle is identifying what should be done, and we can look at what industry leaders have already implemented to guide that vision: leaders are embracing technology’s ability to automate, standardize, consolidate, and simplify. Health system decision-makers have recognized the liability and vulnerability disparate systems across their facilities can pose and are moving to bring enterprise-level alignment into reality, while achieving cost-savings and optimal patient outcomes in the process.

Tanja Dowe, CEO of the Debiopharm Innovation

With the difficult capital markets, several strategies are applied to ensure continuity of business. Earlier-stage companies are being bridged by their existing investors to avoid down rounds. Those that raised large rounds in 2021 and hired lots of people to accelerate growth are cutting large percentages of their headcount. Everyone is looking for a faster route to break even & profitability. Debt financing and alternative ways to access capital are getting more popular. Additionally, industry consolidation is expected. Not all of it will be pretty, there will be a lot of super-structured deals and low-value share swaps. Some companies will simply disappear. However, everyone seems to be a bit on the sidelines still, waiting for the situation to get sweatier and the evidence to happen.

Derek Streat, Co-founder and CEO of DexCare

The intense financial and operational pressure on hospitals has been widely documented and vividly apparent over the past two years, but the sentiment among stakeholders at the conference indicates the industry is now on the path to recovery. Health systems are pivoting and implementing strategies and tools to effectively address challenges and strengthen their resiliency. Take, for example, challenges related to workforce retention, turnover, and burnout. Health systems recognize that the traditional approach to workforce management is no longer feasible, and the key to solving workforce challenges requires a shift toward driving efficiency and redistributing the workload. Decisionmakers are turning towards technology solutions that drive efficiency on the backend, which helps to optimize capacity management and resource allocation, which ultimately alleviates the burden on staff.

Another key theme at the conference was innovation, which is notable considering this is typically a financially focused conference. Prior to the conference, I was hearing quite a bit of chatter among stakeholders who felt health systems were pulling back on innovation, but the sentiment among health system CEOs at JPM indicates innovation is top-of-mind. This in part is being fueled by intensifying competition between health systems, particularly those in the same region who are vying for the same patients. The industry’s shift towards consumerization has also fueled a sense of urgency, and health systems now recognize that innovation is a necessity to attract new and retain existing patients by providing a superior consumer experience.

Overall, the conference highlighted that the industry is moving in the right direction and creating sustainable solutions to overcome current and future challenges. Health systems are proving their resiliency and are on track to emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever before.

Kimberly O’Loughlin, CEO of Health Recovery Solutions

We’re all aware of the workforce challenges that have been plaguing the healthcare industry over the past year, particularly with the severe nursing shortage. While this remains a major concern for health systems going into 2023, I’m optimistic that we’re looking at the right levers to effectively address this issue. One major way to alleviate the impacts of these staffing shortages is for healthcare organizations to invest in technologies that drive efficiency and augment constrained resources. From what I heard recently at JPM, healthcare executives plan to continue innovating by broadening their digital strategies across care settings and adopt solutions, such as remote care monitoring and telehealth, that will deliver high ROI while truly alleviating workforce challenges and burnout.

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