Healthcare finance leaders shift focus to external threats amid regulatory, economic uncertainty

Editor's Note

A new Deloitte report shows healthcare finance leaders are increasingly focused on external business pressures, especially federal policy changes, tariffs, and economic volatility, Chief Healthcare Executive reported June 24. In contrast to prior surveys, where workforce and internal operations were top concerns, 84% of leaders now cite external factors as their primary challenges.

As detailed in the article, Deloitte surveyed 64 healthcare finance leaders, 32 from hospitals and 32 from health systems. Key takeaways include:

• The top-ranked concern across respondents was tariff and trade policy changes, with leaders expressing worry that rising costs of imported medical supplies—already comprising about 20% of an average hospital’s expenses—could increase costs by 15% or more. 
• 81% of respondents identified evolving consumer expectations—particularly around affordability and trust—as major external pressures.
• 73% of respondents cited concerns about growth and financial performance. According to the article, Deloitte noted a marked shift from its December 2023 survey, when finance leaders had a more favorable growth outlook.
• Cybersecurity, while still a concern, has been overtaken in urgency by economic and regulatory pressures. Organizations with high Medicaid patient volumes, particularly in rural areas, are closely watching proposed federal changes that could threaten coverage and reduce service capacity.
• Only 28% of health system leaders and 25% of health plan leaders said that mergers and acquisitions have yielded strong benefits. 
• 53% of health system leaders reported strong benefits from generative artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based tools, while 72% of health plan leaders reported moderate to no impact.  

As detailed in the article, many hospital systems continue to face financial headwinds lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations detailed further in the main report include planning grounded in data and cross-sector collaboration, including opportunities to partner with technology, biopharma, and retail sectors.