Structural Change in American Health Care

Abstract

The article looks at the state of the U.S. healthcare at the end of the pandemic which brought to light a range of systemic problems of the industry: low efficiency at extremely high cost, inequities to health care access and a strong divide in the American society on healthcare issues. The author examines the key factors that will shape the future of the industry. Among them are an uncertain economic situation and high inflation rates, the rollback of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provisions, the end of the public health emergency and the population aging. The divided Congress also won’t allow the democratic administration to realize large-scaled reforms announced by the President during the race. At the same time some provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will bring some changes to the industry. The analysis allowed the author to come to the following conclusions. American healthcare is experiencing a structural change. On the one hand, the system has to adapt to an endemic future. On the other hand, the difficult economic situation resulting from the COVID‑19 pandemic will be another stress test for the industry: shortages of medical personnel, unprofitable medical facilities, rising prices for medical care, and a likely increase of the uninsured. Many traditional players will need to review their operations. Non-traditional retail giants could change game rules and offer more efficient models for managing and health care delivery. Addressing the issue of equitable access to health care will require further intervention by the federal government. Healthcare will be one of the key topics in the 2024 presidential election.