The climb of a healthcare manager expert : John Adlesich about healthcare industry trends: Expand the market while improving community health. New entrants can be a force multiplier and increase the overall market for health services. Look for opportunities where your services could have a significant impact on community health and partner intentionally. For example, about half of women age 40 and older do not get screening mammograms. If mammography services provided by a large retailer were successful in motivating this population, the majority of women receiving in-store mammograms would not need follow-up care. However, many would require referrals for follow-up diagnostic exams and, possibly, treatment. Establishing a two-way relationship with that new entrant — sharing data and providing easy access to hospitals or health systems — could open the door to a potentially significant flow of new referrals.
John Adlesich about healthcare industry trends: The new administration will also likely push to expand healthcare program funding, including ACA programs and value-based care, and expansion of coverage. The Senate may use the budget reconciliation process to push through a COVID-19 relief package and some healthcare-related policies. Budget reconciliation requires only a majority vote, as contrasted to a supermajority vote for regular legislation. However, budget reconciliation can only happen a couple of times per year, generally speaking, when the budget is up for approval, and is limited to budget-related items. Budget reconciliation pushed through some provisions of the ACA in 2010. While some of the ACA expansions, increased subsidies, and tax credits could occur through budget reconciliation, this process would not be available for bigger picture health policy issues that are unrelated to the federal budget. These bigger picture items include issues such as a public option, Medicare for all, and lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60.
John Adlesich thinks that 2021 is an important year for the healthcare industry. While a balanced approach is important, there is no question that US-based sources for many products are lacking to non-existent. To remedy this imbalance, we may see tax incentives and low-cost loans that would enable American manufacturers to invest in new automation technologies, to help level the playing field with overseas companies that have access to cheap labor and fewer regulatory barriers. There may also be new requirements that government purchasers such as the Veteran’s Administration and Department of Defense purchase at least a portion of the medical products they use from domestic suppliers. More, too, should be done to incent our health care providers to purchase domestically. Such moves would go a long way to creating the demand necessary for added domestic investments. When added incentives are required, the private sector will continue to step in to reward manufacturers that place a premium on geographic diversity for their supply chains. For instance, after learning that 90 percent of all face masks were produced in China, leaving the US highly susceptible to shortages, Premier and 16 leading health systems pooled resources to take a minority stake in Prestige Ameritech, one of the nation’s only domestic producers of face masks and other personal protective equipment. In exchange for the cash infusion and long-term purchasing commitments, the company is now making 3.5 million masks per month that it ordinarily would have had little incentive to make. In November, we followed that initiative with a partnership with 34 members to invest in DeRoyal Industries for the domestic production of isolation gowns that have increasingly been difficult to find.
John Adlesich currently works as administrator at Marquis Companies. His latest healthcare industry experience includes positions as executive director at Powerback Rehabilitation Lafayette (Genesis Healthcare) between Aug 2020 – Jan 2021, administrator at Mesa Vista of Boulder between Mar 2019 – Aug 2020, chief executive officer at Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital between Jul 2018 – Feb 2019, interim chief operating officer at Toiyabe Indian Health Project between Mar 2018 – Jun 2018.