BY Catherine Lightfoot, CPA, CHBC, Director of Healthcare at EEPB
I recently attended Houston’s 2024 Healthcare Leadership Quorum (HCLQ), a platform for industry-leading experts and professionals to deliberate on the most relevant and pressing issues in healthcare. This year’s discussions centered around promoting awareness and motivating change in the areas of human capital & people strategy, artificial intelligence, and mental health. Enlightening sessions provided deep insights into not only the challenges but also the innovative solutions influencers are developing to serve the medical community, including the underserved. In this article, I will focus on the homeless and mental health at-risk populations, and what it might mean to your practice.
The Homeless Problem
One statistic reported by Carlie Brown, the CEO of Healthcare for the Homeless/Houston, has stayed with me. Brown shared that her research team took a group of regular patients and worked with local organizations to get them situated in housing. They tracked those patients for a year and recorded a seventy percent drop in emergency room visits with this group. So, with the basic need of shelter covered, the need or presumed need for medical care dropped. As health issues of the underserved become more widespread, healthcare providers are seeing a demand for auxiliary services, like housing the unhoused. But what is the financial impact?
Mental Health Issues
Panels of HCLQ speakers also discussed various issues in the mental health landscape, one of the primary ones being accessibility. Many patients face barriers either due to a lack of coverage, a shortage of providers, or the stigma of seeking help for a mental illness. The integration of mental health into primary care settings and the expansion of virtual care are some potential options under consideration. Is this even feasible given the complexities of insurance reimbursements, grant requests, and coordination with other federal programs?
Future Implications
Healthcare providers who invest in these areas recognize the long-term cost savings that come with the prevention of more severe health complications and improvement of the quality of life. With widespread awareness of proactive assistance to the homeless and mentally ill hitting the bottom line, solutions must be found. The innovative ideas of industry leaders will make it work, and the changes will evolve rapidly. Healthcare drivers are already meeting and testing solutions, evidenced by presenters at the HCLQ, which is just one such forum.
Financial Opportunity
At the individual practitioner level: As the emphasis on mental health continues to grow, it presents a significant opportunity for those who learn how to incorporate managed care into their existing clinical environment. However, accurate accounting and financial management practices are crucial to determine which solutions are feasible, and which ones need to be dropped immediately to protect the financial stability of your practice.
At the industry level: As the healthcare industry explores options to adjust the system to handle the growing need for these services, it will need to measure the cost with projections and close monitoring of financial data.