Posts

Study: North Texas Hospitals Have a $38.4 Billion Economic Impact

/in , , /by

Healthcare continues to be one of North Texas’ most important economic drivers, with an increase of $7.7 billion in economic impact since 2017.

A new study commissioned by the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council shows that healthcare makes a $38.4 billion economic impact on the region.

“We were impressed by the significant increase and impact for North Texas over the past five years,” said Stephen Love, president, and CEO of DFWHC via release. “Such a positive economic impact is extraordinary, especially considering the challenges facing hospitals over the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The study, which DFWBGH’s Board of Trustees commissioned, highlights statistics provided by the 90 DFWHC hospital members. The institutions provided $26.1 billion in labor income, $5.9 billion in retail sales, and $6.4 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. The members also represented 372,988 jobs in 2022, an increase from 295,138 in 2017.

The numbers from this region reflect a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report from 2020, saying that the healthcare sector will add 2.6 million jobs over the next decade, with nurse practitioners growing incredibly quickly, at 45.7 percent. As the Baby Boomer population ages and has increased chronic conditions, healthcare will be more in-demand than ever, and healthcare is expected to grow quicker than any other industry.

The economic impact was measured by calculating the business transactions of all industries within a hospital’s service area, DFWHC’s region, and the state. It also measured the hospital and employee spending while calculating the number of jobs and income created through healthcare positions.

Despite the economic impact, many hospitals are struggling to stay in the black. Because reimbursement rates are negotiated yearly, it is more difficult for healthcare entities to increase prices if the cost of supplies and labor fluctuates, as they have in the last year. Bloomberg reported in September that 53 percent of all hospitals to lose money in 2022. Delayed care due to the pandemic has resulted in sicker patients, labor shortages have forced providers to increase pay to attract talent, and inflation has raised input costs.

Consulting firm Kaufman Hall and the American Hospital Association research showed that in 2019 and 2021, around 35 percent of hospitals experienced losses, but in 2022 and 2020, more than half had negative margins. Staffing turnover and paying for travel nurses to address shortages have been significant cost drivers. Nationwide, the Kaufman research said that expenses for U.S. hospitals would climb $135 billion over last year’s levels, with $86 billion representing labor cost increases.

But increased salaries, real estate, and material costs for hospitals all equate to a more significant economic impact, all while many hospital systems struggle to stay profitable. In many areas, the hospital is the largest employer in the region, and as organizations move toward building hospitals as wellness centers, they play an increasingly important role in communities.

The DFWHC study was created by Ann K. Peton, director of the National Center for Rural Health Works and the National Center for the Analysis of Healthcare Data.

“These numbers show North Texas hospitals do much more than just provide medical services,” said Peton via release. “The employment and income generated and the ripple effect in other businesses throughout the economy are enormous. The study clearly demonstrates that DFWHC-member hospitals are major players in economic development in Texas.”

 

Source: D CEO Magazine

Amazon’s New Prime Offer: Delivering Six Health Clinics For 20,000 Workers In Dallas-Fort Worth

/in , , /by

Amazon is getting into the health care delivery business, at least for its employees.

Last month, the e-commerce giant opened a primary care clinic in Irving and soon plans to open similar health centers in Coppell, Garland, Duncanville, North Fort Worth and near Haslet. The local launch is the first stage of a pilot project that will include four other U.S. metros by early next year, Amazon said.

Registered nurse Jodyne Schlachter explains the technology in one of the clinical rooms at the new Amazon health center in Irving. Amazon plans to open five additional clinics in North Texas this year.(PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Depending on results in Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Louisville, Detroit and San Bernardino, Calif., Amazon could eventually expand the clinics to additional employee hubs.

The project was conceived over a year ago, before COVID-19 emerged. Officials said the coronavirus has had little effect on their plans, except to put even more emphasis on virtual health visits.

Amazon’s centers will be staffed by Crossover Health, a California company that operates onsite and near-site facilities for some large self-insured employers, including Microsoft, Facebook and LinkedIn. The clinics will include doctors, nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists and behavioral health experts.

Amazon has about 20,000 employees in North Texas and has been growing rapidly here. About 11,000 work in operations and fulfillment centers, and the rest are corporate staff, management and tech workers.

Amazon is hardly a pioneer in this space. Walmart unveiled its own health clinics in 2014, charging $4 for a doctor’s visit for employees and $40 for store customers.

Amazon clinics will be limited to employees and their dependents. To accommodate so-called Amazonians on late shifts, the centers will have extended hours, including weekends.

“Hopefully, we’re within 10 miles of almost everybody who works for Amazon in the D-FW area,” said Derek Rubino, senior program manager for workplace health and safety. “Amazon was proud to offer health insurance to all full-time employees on their first day, including hourly workers. But many in D-FW don’t use the benefit. A lot of it really comes down to convenience. Having benefits only gets you part-way there.”

Amazon wants to remove barriers that keep workers away and persuade them to embrace primary care. That includes a range of services, from check-ups and immunizations to managing chronic conditions. Studies show primary care helps avoid more complicated, costly problems later.

“I honestly believe this is going to be life-changing for some folks,” Rubino said.

Onsite clinics are usually embraced by large employers and often were started to address workplace injuries. More recently, companies have adopted them for general medical care, putting clinics near the workplace, not inside it.

In 2017, one-third of companies with at least 5,000 employees had a general medical clinic at or near their worksite, according to a survey by Mercer, a human resources consultant. That share was twice as high as a decade earlier.

“The vast majority of these clinics have done very well, both in meeting their financial objectives as well as improving health and wellness,” said Larry Boress, executive director of the National Association of Worksite Health Centers.

Companies cite many reasons for investing in clinics, from lowering health spending to boosting worker productivity.

“Over 40% of employees who use the clinics don’t have a personal doctor,” Boress said, “and in the Mercer survey, more than 1 in 3 said the clinics served as their medical home. These clinics often become their only source of medical care.”

Health advocates, employers and insurers are emphasizing primary care as a way to bend the curve in health spending. In Plano, to encourage city employees to go to certain doctors, the health plan charges a copay of just $5 for a visit. In Fort Worth, it’s free for city employees to use certain clinics or virtual health providers — but there’s a stiff penalty for going to the ER if it’s not an emergency.

The Amazon health centers are in-network providers so employees will pay the standard rate, which depends on the health plan they’ve chosen. Amazon officials would not provide a number or range. On Amazon’s benefits website, the price of an in-network office visit is $30.

“We wouldn’t drive anyone away because of price,” Rubino said.

Crossover Health, which started in 2010, said employers save 30% on health spending through its program. One reason is that it claims to cut urgent care visits and imaging services by half.

During the pandemic, Crossover said it has shifted 90% of interactions to virtual care, and secure messaging — emails and texts between patients and providers — is up 40%.

“We can identify things that may be important to a specific population and really tailor the program,” said Dr. Stephen Ezeji-Okoye, Crossover’s chief medical officer. “The extended hours, the range of services, the coverage of young dependents — all that was designed for Amazon employees.”

Crossover also emphasizes short waits, usually fewer than five minutes, to see a doctor. Visits last 30 minutes or more, in part because doctors aren’t reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis.

“Crossover gets a monthly payment, based on a per-member fee or a cost-plus arrangement,” Ezeji-Okoye said, “and that keeps the focus on keeping patients healthy. The long encounters lead to fewer tests and imaging and fewer referrals because we have the time to establish a relationship.”

“While many companies and providers are rethinking their approaches to health care, Amazon’s move could have an outsize influence,” said Boress of the worksite trade group. “Employers like to benchmark themselves against the leading edge companies. They look to the leaders, and in many cases, they follow ’em.”

 

Source: The Dallas Morning News