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The US healthcare or medical practice industry constitutes distinct organizations and sectors involving healthcare providers, hospital systems, insurance companies, and independent healthcare providers.
Within the industry, healthcare services are provided to treat patients with remedial, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care.
The U.S. healthcare facilities are mostly owned and operated by private sector companies. The contemporary healthcare industry consists of various sectors and categories subject to the interdisciplinary teams of trained and skilled professionals providing healthcare to individuals and populations.
The U.S. healthcare system has been divided into different segments, such as – Hospitals, Nursing and residential care facilities, Physician’s offices, Dentist’s offices, Home health care, Health practitioners, Outpatient care centers, Ambulatory Services, and Medical and Diagnostic laboratories.
The healthcare spending in the United States reached $4.1 trillion. The industry’s spending accounted for 19.7 percent as a share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the projected employment growth in the healthcare occupations is 16% from 2020 to 2030 because of the aging population in the country with increased medical attention. The occupation related to healthcare support (home health aides, etc.) resulted in a median annual wage of $29,960.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns (CBP) reports that more than nine million businesses in the healthcare and social assistance sector outpaced all other sectors, with more than $1.0 trillion in annual payroll.
The U.S. healthcare industry is facing some problems like labor shortages, worker burnout, cybercrime surge, and changes in the delivery of health care.
However, the industry is also embracing new approaches to risk management, with confidence to turn 2022 into a year of opportunity.
The industry players are set to work toward better assisting patients, doctors, and nursing staff.
In the following sections, we are discussing the existential status of the healthcare industry in the U.S.
The Healthcare industry is perhaps the only industry in current circumstances that needs “Help Wanted” sign.
The industry’s nursing section is facing an acute shortage of labor, say 84% of hospitals identify that the nursing shortage is quite challenging in tackling a health crisis like the pandemic.
Moreover, senior care is also struggling, with 94% of nursing homes and 81% of assisted living facilities having reported employee shortages. The labor markets are also expected to squeeze even further followed by vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers, as many vaccine mandates are being enforced.
Cybercrimes like ransomware keep surging and are expected to be more seriously damaging the healthcare industry in the long run.
The ransomware companies are said to attribute nearly half of all the cybercrimes against healthcare providers.
Data analytics has become quite instrumental in helping the life sciences industry to understand genetics and disease. The data helps them how to figure out patterns in clinical trial study results to improve the drug development and manufacturing process.
Medical professionals leverage machine learning algorithms to understand the behavior of certain drugs. Besides, the technique is used in predictive medicine to do AI-based analysis of tests and medical records, and track the effects of various therapies on groups of patients over time.
The history of healthcare in the United States doesn’t bear much similarity with that of most other first-world nations. No doubt the Civil War in the country prompted the progress of the country’s medicine faster, resulting in a more unique healthcare system now evolving into something that country’s citizens find both lovable and unsatisfactory.
Well, no matter whichever perspective you tend to lean toward, it is no brainer to understand that the history of U.S. medicine and organized healthcare has a long winding road. Let’s dive into how we’ve gotten up to this far today.
During colonial times in the 1700s, medicine remained at a nascent stage for the first few generations of colonists. The role of women in attending health care, especially when it came to childbirth, was significant in those times. There were higher mortality rates of infants and young ones due to malaria, diphtheria, and yellow fever. Traditional medicines were used to treat sick persons. Public health had almost no government regulation in those early days.
The Medical College of Philadelphia was founded in 1765. Later, in 1770, the medical department of King's College was founded in New York.
During the Civil war, the situation of healthcare was precarious. More soldiers lost their lives to diseases than from fighting in the war. The status-quo of the Confederate States of America suffered from the severe lack of medical supplies and physicians. Soon, the epidemics of childhood diseases like measles, chickenpox, etc. broke out due to the absence of hygiene and overcrowded quarters, ravaging the human population. Eventually, progress was made in the form of care facilities, surgical techniques, and nursing methods. Every state got its army hospitals.
Many agencies related to health were set up, raising awareness of the public toward healthcare. Both the federal government and states started to invest in healthcare. The American Medical Association (founded in 1849) started to be popular with its growing counts of membership accounting for about half the physicians in the United States.
The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) brought forth the rising importance of stronger health care in the country as he himself believed in the significance of health insurance. The country’s industrial revolution kept rolling on and with it came more and more workplace injuries due to strenuous activities and heavy machinery at manufacturing jobs during the industrial revolution in the U.S.
To tackle health-related issues of workers effectively, companies started to roll out various forms of sickness protection. One among such companies that introduced healthcare for the US workers was the American Association of Labor Legislation (AALL). It was an early advocacy group for national health insurance founded to study the labor condition and labor legislation in the U.S. It drafted the legislation in favor of working-class and low-income citizens but it was taken down under fierce opposition by some medical societies. This was the era when another group called the Progressive Party was pitching for the idea of national health service and public healthcare for the disabled, elderly, and jobless.
After world war 1, the cost of healthcare in America became a burning issue, given healthcare institutions and doctors started to charge beyond the affordability of average citizens. Later, Dallas-based Baylor Hospitals came up with a unique program to support teachers with a pre-paid healthcare monthly fee.
The popularity of the program went across the nation, resulting ina Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
The Great Depression of the 1930s intensified the debate of healthcare, especially for the elderly and the jobless. Despite Blue Cross and Blue Shield rolling on across the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, realizing the gravity of healthcare issues in the country, got to work on a health insurance bill that included the “elderly” benefits, something very sought-after at the time.
Later, the Social Security Act of 1935 brought forth unique public health support for the retired and elderly, allowing states to make available provisions for the needy who were either jobless or disabled (or both). This was a time when a leading industrialist by the name of Henry Kaiser, with the help of Dr. Sidney Garfield, introduced pre-paid healthcare to 6,500 of his employees at the Grand Coulee Dam. The program was a big hit for the workers and their families.
The Wagner-Murray-Dingell Bill was introduced in 1945 but could not be passed due to intense opposition. However, the attempt was quite distinct based on its effort for health care reform in the U.S. The president, John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) also worked on a healthcare plan for senior citizens and tried to push Congress to pass the bill but it failed followed by the intense opposition from AMA. In the 1990s, president, Bill Clinton (1993-2001), proposed the Health Security Act of 1993, after he saw that the rapid healthcare expenses would be damaging the average citizens in America.
The provisions included universal coverage and a basic benefits package, along with health insurance reform, and other benefits.
In 1996, Clinton signed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The HIPAA brought forth a modernistic flow of healthcare information and privacy standards for people. The Clinton Administrator also brought forth the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
It provides matching fund payments to states for health insurance to families with uninsured children and incomes far too low to qualify for Medicaid. Later, under the presidency of Barack Obama (2009-2017), the Affordable Care Act (ACA), colloquially known as Obamacare, was introduced, representing the country’s most significant healthcare systems regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage.
One of the most notable features of the ACA was its pre-existing condition clause.
In this section, we are going to highlight some important updates or trends taking place in the healthcare industry and how they are going to be for the industry in the long run.
The healthcare trend in the United States is now shifted toward value-based care, since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010. It introduced a dramatic change to the way health providers would be paid, such as the number of patients they saw and the number of tests they performed, along with other fee-based mechanisms.
The Obamacare methodology is patient-driven which is essentially considered to push the healthcare toward more value-oriented care to the patients and help healthcare providers receive fees based on favorable patient outcomes. This sort of value-based approach, coupled with one-year renewal schedules for physicians’ contacts will focus more on quality over quantity.
To streamline the care delivery process in the healthcare industry, successful supply chains play an integral role in terms of increasing storage and self-distribution, cultivating deeper relationships with backup suppliers, having in place new supply chain models for new care settings, and involving more automation software and artificial intelligence to streamline supply chains with predictive information.
Cooperative competition, or “coopetition”, is one of the key trends catching up in the healthcare industry these days.
It is seen as a viable strategy among nationwide pharmaceutical chains and healthcare organizations to be able to provide lower cost of care, increase downstream market capture, and offer core specialty services while staying connected with the patients.
The trend of coopetition strategy also focuses on expanding the healthcare market while making community health better by allowing new entrants to be force multipliers and cashing in on opportunities where health acres could significantly impact community health and partner intentionally.
Just as companies in the past became tech companies, in light of data and computing becoming more powerful, similarly companies are now learning to become healthcare companies as protecting employees and customers is one of the top priorities for doing business. This means including enhanced biosecurity measures, from on-premises screening technology to sanitization stations and quarantine measures at locations requiring the physical presence of staff.
The technology-driven innovation around healthcare systems will introduce more advanced safety measures and early detection of health threats to rule out the possibility of the contagious disease being passed around.
While some companies deem it prudent to allow their employees to remain remote, supporting the mental health of workers who juggle home and work responsibilities will be another challenge for the companies.
In this context, technological innovations like health apps, meditation, and mindfulness apps will play their part in mitigating these types of challenges.
In this section, we are highlighting the importance of healthcare franchises and opportunities for business persons or entrepreneurs.
Franchising has provided the healthcare industry with a great growth prospect.
With options in the franchising segment like assisting living facilities, causality, medical billing services, mobility equipment used by patients, therapies, etc. the sector portrays great employment opportunities and growth prospects in the healthcare segment.
Moreover, a healthcare franchise can be a good start for a new entrepreneur to allow a more successful entrance to the market with the help of larger resources, knowledge, and support a franchise.
The first rule of thumb in choosing a business franchise in healthcare is choosing a business offering long-term growth. Moreover, it is very important to understand that employees working in healthcare must be properly educated, trained, and certified to ensure that the business complies with the local, state, or federal laws.
We are listing some healthcare franchises below to help you choose the right franchise best suited to your interests.
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing was founded in 1969. It’s a membership organization representing about 3,500 mental health and substance use treatment organizations and over 10 million children, adults, and families they serve.
Basically, the association drives social change and policy for these organizations to ensure that high-quality services are equitably accessible. The organization lends more focus on promoting the significance of mental wellbeing as a core component of comprehensive health and health care.
Advanced Medical Technology Association is a Washington-based U.S. medical device trade association. Its involvement in advancing medical technology is to achieve healthier lives and economics around the world.
The member companies of the association have a global presence and range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. It advocates companies that produce medical devices, digital health technologies, and diagnostic products.
National Association for Psychiatric Health Systems was established to represent behavioral healthcare. It gives representation to the provider systems engaged in the delivery of clinically effective and responsive prevention, treatment, and care for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults affected with mental and substance use disorders.
The American Association for Health Education was established as a membership organization that advocates 5,500 health educators and health promotion specialists.
It is the oldest and largest health education association with members representing every level of academia and practitioners in all corners of society.
The association’s mission is to assist health educators and other professionals striving to promote the health of all people.
Dental Trade Alliance (DTA) was founded as a trade association of distributors, service providers, and manufacturers of the oral health industry driven by a common purpose of enhancing the status of oral care. This is a member-supported trade associated representing businesses all across North America and provides the resources and knowledge-sharing opportunities. The association is driven by its mission of succeeding its members and the industry at large.
Alan B. Miller is a renowned business in America. He founded Universal Health Services in 1979 and led it to become America’s one of the largest healthcare corporations, with annual revenues of more than $11.37 billion . Miller was born on August 17, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York City. A graduate from the College of William and Mary, Miller’s first foray into the professional field was with Young & Rubicam, a NY-based advertising industry where he learned about entrepreneurship.
Miller, with his former Wharton roommate, set up a new venture called American Medicorp. The purpose of the new venture was to build privately-owned hospitals in America’s high-growth areas, such as California. Eventually, Miller's partner left the company followed by financial trouble in the company.
Miller, now as a CEO of American Medicorp, put considerable efforts in uplifting the company from the financial swamp and engineered such a turnaround that he brought the company to the spotlights within the healthcare industry.
Unfortunately, he lost the company to a hostile takeover by Humana, a health insurance company, in 1978.
However, that incident didn’t dampen his relentless spirit of achieving success against the odds.
Miller set up a new venture by the name of Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS). To make this new venture successful, Miller applied the same formula for success that he tried in rebuilding American Medicorp. His application of the success formula bore fruit, as UHS was transformed from a start-up venture with six employees and zero revenue to a Fortune 500 company. Today, it is America’s one of the largest healthcare corporations, with a workforce strength of over 90,0000 and commercial values of over $11.4 billion.
Miller is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Federation of American Hospitals. He received the FAHS Award for leadership in 1978. Financial World magazine featured him among the Outstanding 1000 CEOs in 1995 and 1996.
The healthcare business financing or medical practice loans are good options for doctors, dentists, or other healthcare professionals who want to open their own medical practice.
In fact, the joy of being your own boss is quite boundless. In due course of time, you end up developing a trusted relationship with your patients by helping them and their families to live a better, healthy life.
With healthcare business loans, you own your own practice and determine how many patients you see by adjusting your operating hours, or see patients occasionally on weekends to just make sure your medical practice keeps growing.
While owning a medical practice may sound like a sound business idea, it also comes with certain downsides, or say you have to shoulder all of the risks associated with it.
One of the biggest challenges you may face in this regard is experiencing large financial costs, say around $100,000 to simply open your doors for the first time. After your business is up and running, the expenses keep growing up accordingly, depending on the size of the practice.
This is why medical practice loans sound like a good resort to handle such challenges in a new and existing medical service business.
To qualify for healthcare business loans typically depends on the health of an individual’s medical practice and its creditworthiness.
Medical practice lenders today constitute a wide pool of financial institutions, banks, and private investors. While you may not be privy to the exact origin of your loan amounts, you will get the assurance that the source of the funds is trustworthy.
In this section, we are sharing some useful information about some top medical practice loans to narrow down your research for the best loan product that makes sense for your healthcare business.
The mission of Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans is to assist small business companies and entrepreneurs across the U.S. and address their business concerns, along with boosting the overall economy of the country.
The SBA 7(a) financing is one of the most popular loan products due to its use-case flexibility, great terms, and sizeable funds at the lowest interest rates and longest repayment terms. Under this loan program of SBA, one can receive up to $5 million for their business needs.
Acquiring SBA 7(a) loans is competitive, given strident eligibility criteria, one of them being a strong borrowing background and steady finances of the borrower. This explains why doctors are usually strong candidates for SBA 7(a) loans. The SBA loan timeline can extend up to weeks or even months.
It involves a great deal of paperwork, especially for borrowers lacking organized financial records. For this reason, the SBA loan is not an ideal recommendation to doctors or medical practitioners who are looking for quick finance.
Traditional bank loans could be a great financing option if you are a qualified borrower. Some banks like U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo can even offer you loan products specifically designated for medical practice financing. They offer loans tailored to health care practitioners.
When it comes to receiving loans from traditional lenders, borrowers are supposed to be highly creditworthy with excellent financial pasts. In most cases, approval is not guaranteed, even though you stand qualified for their specialized loan products. And if the loan is approved anyhow, it will take a few months before you obtain the funds.
On a positive note, these types of loans are relatively inexpensive and can be taken even though you have a poor credit history and student loan debts.
Fund your business expenses, address unforeseeable emergencies, or buy equipment. The loan you get has a fixed credit limit, allowing you to make multiple draws as needed within the credit limit.
These types of financing options have flexibility and cost-effectiveness. They are one of the best medical practice loans for doctors and specialists with fluctuating expenses.
Equipment financing is a viable financial solution to purchase specific equipment for the medical practice businesses. The equipment you purchase through the loan will be used as collateral for the loan itself. This means no down payment or collateral to your lender.
It allows you to break down the cost of expensive equipment into a supportable payment option that you can manage.
You can also go for options like short-term loans, and term loans for your medical practice. Under term loans, you will be loaned a lump sum amount that requires repayment over time, including interest, for a set term.
On the other hand, short-term loans will get you fast financing but are very expensive due to higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms.
Because of problems related to acquiring medical practice loans from lenders with strict eligibility criteria, most borrowers turn to alternative lenders, someone with relatively more flexible lending criteria.
In regard to medical practice business loans, Funderial has been an excellent resource for lending. Since 2010, this BBB Accredited Business remains a leader in the lending market assisting over $1 billion dollars in lending to small to midsize businesses providing them with flexible lending /repayment options specific to their needs.
For healthcare businesses to run successfully, timely financial assistance is one of the most important things to manage cash flow, cover daily operational expenses, including but limited to equipment expenses, together with new equipment upgrades, maintaining older equipment, acquiring a new practice, expanding a current business, handling marketing/advertising costs, managing payroll, etc.,
This is where loan companies like Funderial come into the picture, extending a broad variety of loan options for small and medium-sized businesses, at attractive terms through in-house financing models, as well as the offer of trusted lending partners across the United States.
To help you operate your business and maintain its sustainable growth, we have a host of unique financing options at affordable rates and easy terms, with instant approval timespan, and quick turnaround funding.
