Value-Based or Consumer-Centric Healthcare? It’s All the Same to Real Estate
Several large scale trends in healthcare have a meaningful impact on the landscape of healthcare real estate. One trend is the increased interest in adopting value-based care models that reward care providers for proactive and cost-effective care that keeps patients out of hospitals. While some view the transition to value-based care as a force driving further consolidation and vertical integration in the healthcare industry, patient preference is shifting towards an increasingly consumer-centric and distributed model of care. Data clearly show that patients are increasingly opting for healthcare plans that allow for greater choice and flexibility, as enrollment in HDHPs has increased from 2.2% in 2007 to 18.9% in 2017, with traditional plan enrollment decreasing from 85.1% to 56.6% in the same time period.
Other complications with value-based care models is that an estimated 42M Americans change their health insurance plans every year due to switching to a new employer and employer-based coverage or enrolling in a marketplace plan. Getting consistent, longitudinal care that makes a value-based care model the most effective can prove difficult when access to coverage changes frequently.
Regardless of where one falls on the future of a value-based, centralized care model versus a consumer choice model, it is clear that in either case the net result on real estate demand will be the same. In a value-based world, health systems will need to create and incentivize high-value outpatient services that are easily accessible for regular touchpoints with their patient population to most effectively manage their care. In a consumer-focused world, patients will want convenient access to relevant health services in their neighborhoods in high quality, thoughtfully designed settings. New entrants to the healthcare space can succeed by providing a conveniently located consumer-centric experience and partnering with incumbents to create synergies with value-based care models.