More
than
two-thirds
of
leaders
from
health
plans
and
health
systems
anticipate
outperforming
their
competitors
in
2026,
according
to
a
recent
report
from
Deloitte.
Still,
many
don’t
have
a
very
confident
outlook
for
the
healthcare
industry.
About
43%
of
leaders
feel
“uncertain”
or
“neutral”
about
the
industry’s
near-term
outlook,
up
from
28%
last
year.
This
is
mainly
due
to
policy
and
regulatory
uncertainty,
such
as
the
expiration
of
Affordable
Care
Act
subsidies
and
uncertainty
regarding
the
Medicare
telehealth
flexibilities.
“A
majority
of
U.S.
health
system
and
health
plan
leaders
are
expecting
to
outperform
their
competitors
next
year,
but
doing
so
by
following
their
traditional
playbook,”
said
Alicia
Janisch,
vice
chair
and
U.S.
health
care
sector
leader
at
Deloitte,
in
an
interview.
“However,
these
traditional
strategies
may
fall
short
amongst
all
the
mounting
financial
and
regulatory
pressures
that
are
happening
in
healthcare.
Our
outlook
findings
indicated
rising
anxiety
about
policy
shifts,
persistent
affordability
issues
in
a
transformational
moment
right
now
for
digital
adoption
and
care
models.”
Deloitte’s
2026
U.S.
Healthcare
Outlook
Survey
received
responses
from
120
U.S.
C-suite
executives
from
health
plans
and
health
systems.
Additional
findings
from
the
report
include:
1.
Investment
in
digital
delivery:
Consumers
are
continuing
to
receive
care
digitally
due
to
convenience.
More
than
90%
of
consumers
who
had
a
virtual
health
visit
say
they’d
be
willing
to
have
another.
In
addition,
37%
of
consumers
use
monitoring
devices
for
health
conditions
and
47%
use
devices
for
fitness
and
health
tracking.
Because
of
this
interest
among
consumers,
about
60%
of
health
plan
and
health
system
executives
report
that
they
plan
to
invest
in
virtual
health
services
to
support
preventive
care.
2.
Scaling
AI:
More
than
80%
of
leaders
believe
that
gen
AI
and
agentic
AI
can
provide
“moderate-to-significant
value
across
a
range
of
functions
in
2026,
from
clinical
and
business
operations
to
back-office
functions.”
However,
49%
of
organizations
are
still
experimenting
with
AI
and
18%
of
organizations
have
not
adopted
AI
at
all.
Only
a
third
of
healthcare
organizations
are
using
AI
at
scale.
The
areas
where
gen
AI
and
agentic
AI
can
add
value
for
payers
and
health
systems
include
enabling
clinical
care,
reducing
administrative
burden
and
improving
consumer
and
workforce
experiences.
“Achieving
scale
with
AI
means
implementing
the
technology
enterprisewide
and
realizing
measurable
financial
impact,”
the
report
stated.
“Health
care
organizations
that
deploy
AI
across
multiple
functions—rather
than
isolating
it
within
specific
departments—can
broadly
reduce
administrative
burdens,
accelerate
decision-making,
and
enhance
outcomes
and
consumer
experiences.”
3.
Partnering
with
other
industries:
About
80%
of
executives
say
that
collaborating
with
other
industries
—
such
as
retail,
tech
and
grocery
—
is
a
C-suite
priority.
For
example,
working
with
community-based
organizations
can
help
address
social
and
economic
needs,
while
partnering
with
retailers
can
address
food-related
needs.
“It
is
important
to
think
about
joining
forces
and
what
innovation
can
come
[from]
looking
outside
of
healthcare,”
Janisch
said.
Thai
Noipho,
Getty
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