Healthcare is no longer recession proof

Healthcare used to be the recession proof industry. People always get sick. People always need a doctor. Note I said, “used to be”. The economy, nationally and especially regionally, is having quite an impact on healthcare, and not in a good way.

There are many people in our community, and throughout the nation that have healthcare needs. Many of them urgent needs. Unfortunately, many no longer have a job, which means they don’t have insurance. Or they have fewer hours and less income with which to make co-pays and cover out-of-pocket expenses. This is a truly unfortunate situation. The longer these individuals put off getting healthcare, the worse their condition will progress leading to even more serious complications for the patient and ultimately even higher costs for treatment.

This grim situation is further compounded throughout the layers of the healthcare system. With decreased patient volume, hospitals and medical practices hold off making hires creating very little opportunity for companies to expand and reinvest in the community.

So what do you do? Well, as an individual, do your best to stay healthy and if you need healthcare get it. There are options out there like Care Credit and Access to Health Network that can help. As a medical practice, we will continue taking care of the people who come through our door to the best of our ability. And we will continue to grow our practice to meet the needs of the community (we just hired another APN and continue our search for another neurosurgeon).

Yes, the economy will eventually recover, but it will likely take years. In the meantime there are going to be some unique challenges and many unknowns.