Joseph Ebberwein, Co-Founder and CFO
The year 2022 was significant for healthcare as the industry faced the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including financial disruptions and critical labor shortages, as well as major initiatives made by industry disrupters to shake up the healthcare landscape. Amazon was featured in two of the “top ten” healthcare stories of 2022; one for its decision to shut down its hybrid primary care service, Amazon Care, and the other for its announcement to acquire One Medical for $3.9B.) The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new variants and vaccination efforts, was also a significant topic of discussion. Three of the “top ten” stories in Fierce Healthcare centered on the spread of new variants in the fall, the "tripledemic" impact of the flu, COVID-19, and RSV, as well as studies examining death rates among the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated.
2022 also saw hospitals and health systems struggling with a labor shortage. Fierce Healthcare reported on New York state's efforts to address healthcare workforce retention with a $3,000 payout and stories on healthcare layoffs that made the top 20.
Some of Modern Healthcare’s top 2022 stories included:
The CMS shift in its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Strategy to the REACH ACO model (Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health Model) to be run by CMMI.
United Health Group’s acquisition of LHC Home Health and Hospice business for $5.4B, expanding United’s presence in more than 30 states
Amazon’s acquisition of primary care provider One Medical and its shuttering of Amazon Care
The growing healthcare staffing crisis
Blake Madden’s Hospitology 2022 Year in Review provides an excellent overview of the top stories shaping healthcare in 2022 that will lead to significant changes in 2023, including:
Deals that shaped healthcare in 2022
Physician employment approaches max capacity
Year of the cross-market hospital mega-merger
Digital health’s valuation washout
CVS’ loud, eventful year
Amazon ramps up in healthcare with One Medical, Amazon Clinic launch
The Medicare Advantage battle picks up as Insurtechs bow out
Optum hits 70,000 physicians and UnitedHealth Group’s unrelenting growth, M&A engine
Inflation Reduction Act: the biggest reform in 10 years
The year and upcoming decade of vertical alignment
Healthcare workforce dynamics entering 2023
Direct contracting results set the stage for ACO REACH
Other notable moves in healthcare
Corstrata found these 2022 trends noteworthy:
The increased focus on at-home models of care is punctuated by the following:
Hospital at Home continued to expand and was bolstered by Congress's inclusion of a two-year extension of the Acute Care at Home waiver in the omnibus funding package.
Significant capital raised in 2022 by major hospital at-home players:
Medically Home raised $110M
DispatchHealth raised a $330M Series E.
The continued trend in “retailization” of healthcare is evidenced by the following:
Walgreens’ VillageMD’s acquisition of Summit Health for $8.9B
CVS’s acquisition of Signify Health for $8B
Telehealth is being leveraged in “blended models” where virtual visits support boots-on-the-ground clinical staff for check-ins, specialty care, etc.
In 2022, the healthcare industry faced ongoing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including financial disruptions, labor shortages, and new variants. One of the major trends in the industry was the shift towards at-home models of care. This was exemplified by the continued expansion of Hospital at Home, which was supported by Congress's inclusion of a two-year extension of the Acute Care at Home waiver in the omnibus funding package. Additionally, there was significant capital raised by major players in the at-home care space, such as Medically Home raising $110M and DispatchHealth raising $330M Series E. The trend of "retailization" of healthcare was also evident, with companies such as Walgreens’ expansion of its hybrid clinic/care at home, VillageMD, and CVS's acquisition of Summit Health and Signify Health respectively. We witnessed the Telehealth industry also being leveraged in "blended models" where virtual visits supported in-person clinical staff for check-ins and specialty care.
As we move into this new year of 2023, it's important to look at the future of the healthcare industry. In 2022, we experienced a number of challenges in the healthcare industry, from staffing shortages to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2023, we can expect to see the continuation of these challenges. One theme that is likely to shape the industry in 2023 is the growth of home-based care. With an aging population and the desire of patients to receive care in their own homes, home-based care is expected to become more common in 2023. This trend affords cost savings associated with home-based care and allows patients to receive care in a familiar and comfortable setting. In addition to home-based care, other themes likely to shape the healthcare industry in 2023 include virtual care, solutions for staffing shortages, value-based care, the continued shift to Medicare Advantage, and the evolution of rural healthcare.
Corstrata was founded as a solution to provide access to scarce wound and ostomy specialists. We provide services to a range of healthcare providers - hospital at home, home health, hospice, skilled nursing facilities, mobile clinicians, value-based care organizations, etc. Our staff of board-certified wound nurses (CWS, WOC Nurses) provides virtual wound consultations employing evidence-based wound practice to all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico.