Matt Kraemer, administrator of Northern Arizona Healthcare in Flagstaff, spoke with Becker’s to discuss the consolidation trends he is monitoring and the healthcare trends of which he is wary.
Editor’s note: This response was edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Question: What consolidation trends are you eyeing in 2023?
Matt Kraemer: I am focused on the consolidation of health systems, capital equity firms, private practices and third-party payers purchasing practices and ASCs. These types of collaborations and alliances may create difficulty for patients to gain access to perceived out of network or preferred provider organization, specifically with surgical interventions in the ASC setting.
Q: What healthcare trends are you most wary of in 2023?
MK: Given the financial difficulty in healthcare currently, I am wary of healthcare organizations eliminating or reducing certain subspecialties of care as a result of dwindling income and increased cost of operations stemming from inflation in cost of supplies and premium labor.
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