The Provider Revenue Growth Playbook for a Turbulent Market

The Challenge

You’ve done what most provider organizations have had to do: trim budgets, restructure departments and tighten operations. And yet, the pressure hasn’t eased. Margins are still shrinking. Physicians and other staff are in short supply. ^{1, 2} Payer care denials are increasing.³

The usual growth strategies, such as expanding service lines or merging with a larger hospital system, are no longer delivering the same results. So now, a bigger question looms: how do you grow in a healthcare market that’s pushing back on every front? 

Meanwhile, increased care denial rates from both Medicare Advantage and commercial plans are increasing revenue cycle friction. Ongoing physician shortages, combined with a drop in medical school enrollment, contribute to labor shortages.  

The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

Provider revenue growth isn’t just about hitting financial targets. It’s about keeping your organization viable, relevant and mission-driven.

When growth slows, the ability to invest in new services, technology and community outreach also declines. That can mean fewer programs for vulnerable populations, missed opportunities to close care gaps and delayed capital investments. Teams are stretched thinner, competitive threats increase and performance in value-based incentive programs suffers. Without a clear, actionable plan to grow revenue in a sustainable way, providers risk falling behind in a healthcare landscape that is evolving faster than ever.

Why Typical Growth Strategies Fall Short

Many traditional growth tactics are no longer delivering the results they once did. Broad-based service expansion assumes that you can build your way to growth, but many markets are saturated with provider organizations offering similar services. Generic marketing and outreach lack the precision needed to engage today’s savvy healthcare consumers, who expect personalized experiences.  

Even when merger and acquisition opportunities arise, increased regulatory scrutiny has made deals more complex and uncertain. In addition, the traditional approach of competing on volume of healthcare services rather than value leaves providers vulnerable to continued reimbursement pressures and payer denials.    

To thrive in today’s environment, provider organizations must work smarter, leveraging better data and more targeted approaches to growth.

Key Takeaways

Data insights are invaluable to revenue growth and enable you to: 

• Harness healthcare market data and insights to understand your competition, identify revenue opportunities and improve consumer targeting. 
• Use social determinants of health data insights to address health disparities for improved outcomes and better performance in value-based care contracts. 
• Leverage advanced, multi-layered identity verification to provide the seamless, secure digital healthcare experiences consumers expect and improve patient satisfaction. 

References:

1. Physician burnout still a major factor even as unexpected turnover eases, mgma.com. 
2. The physician shortage isn’t going anywhere. McKinsey.com. 
3. Skyrocketing Hospital Administrative Costs, Burdensome Commercial Insurer Policies Impacting Patient Care, AHA.org
4. Drivers of health care costs. A Physicians Foundation white paper - second of a three-part series, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 
5. Why is reimbursement going down when costs are going up? medicaleconomics.com
6. Aging, HHS.gov.
7. Why systems are pumping billions of dollars into outpatient care. modernhealthcare.com