The Big Story: HCA’s exchange losses approach $1 billion
“Also next year, HCA is expecting $550 million to $650 million less in net benefits from Medicaid state supplemental payments.”
How to lead and communicate through the coming cuts
By Tim Stewart and David Shifrin
3-minute read
As you may have heard during every commercial break or social media ad over the last month, Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday with cost, affordability and finances on their minds. Whether the election results are a wave, tsunami or trickle, the status quo – such as it is – will be disrupted. Navigating that disruption, and the financial pressures on health systems that loom when the calendars turn 2027, will take creativity, a healthy dose of strategic planning and organizational resiliency.
Resiliency doesn’t just appear, though. It requires leaders who have built trust and are able to clearly articulate the rationale for change. Leading through uncertainty requires making decisions with the imperfect information available and then communicating decisively about where the organization is going and why.
Bracing for the impact of 2027’s massive reimbursement cuts does not look the same for every healthcare leader. Charting the right strategic course will be tough everywhere, but the specifics will vary from organization to organization. The universal truth is that everyone will have to expand their understanding of what their organization can achieve in an environment that’s becoming more and more difficult.
This moment requires leaders to lead in a way that explains near-term moves in the context of long-term organizational strength, which is easier said than done.
What does that look like in practice?
Build trust before you need it
First, it requires a reservoir of trust, particularly from the public and your team. If you know there is tension or mistrust today, get to work on it now before things really heat up. That means listening through conversations, town halls and surveys, as well as presenting information. But you can’t just dive right into the challenges on your mind. You must also leave room for other issues that may not have surfaced yet. Put another way, it’s worth asking yourself and your team, “Is there anything lingering that would prevent people from trusting us and joining us as we move forward?” And the only way to find out is to ask, then give people room to respond.
Second, it requires a unified vision for the future and messaging to match. Think about all the audiences involved: your staff, physicians and patients. Community leaders and local and state officials. Media. It’s a lot to navigate and, yes, each audience will need a slightly different approach. But that’s made far easier when the underlying message is absolutely consistent and dialed in. The answers to the following should be the same; only the delivery may vary.
- What is happening
- Why we are doing this
- Who will be affected
- How we’re working to minimize the effect
- How this allows us to stay true to our mission, despite the difficulty of the current moment
One message, many audiences
Then, when developing the actual messages, keep these guidelines in mind:
- Test your market. You can’t develop effective messages if you don’t know what people prioritize and what they’re worried about.
- Be thoughtfully proactive. Once you have the outlines of what’s going to happen, let people know. Give them time.
- (Carefully) explain why it’s happening and what it means for the organization. Odds are high the decisions being made will have a financial component. Make it clear this isn’t about trying to squeeze more profit out of the system but instead responding to a difficult environment. Don’t point fingers or play the victim. Simply explain the reality.
- Keep the focus on them; don’t over index on you. Yes, your organization’s margins are thin (at best) and financial health is at risk. That message doesn’t resonate with a public that’s watching their grocery, gas and healthcare bills skyrocket. Keep them at the center of the conversation.
- Explain what’s not changing. Including what you’re committing to keeping in place and how it all points to your mission.
- Provide resources. Very practically speaking, helping people navigate change is a great way to minimize the negative effects and build trust. You’re not leaving them out in the cold. Demonstrate your commitment to your people by helping them through this time with actions, not just platitudes.
Do this work and your team will be ready on every front, from internal and external communications to media conversations, government relations and public affairs – and even change management initiatives.
You won’t have all the information. The landscape isn’t improving any time soon. Those are things you can’t control. What you can control is how you show up with and for your people while working through the uncertainty.
