4 Key Trends For Payers And Providers in 2021

The COVID-19 crisis has led some providers to inquire about partnering or acquiring insurance assets as the pandemic exposed the risk of relying on fee-for-service models.

A year since COVID-19 hit U.S. shores, the pandemic is still raging as deaths and cases strain hospital resources. 

Amid the scrambling, however, providers and payers are adjusting to a new normal likely to continue for months if not beyond. Though arrival of vaccines has prompted hope, the rollout has been slow and fragmented, left up to each state to decide how to disseminate the shots. 

And the deadly pandemic has spurred historic job losses and economic upheaval, which will have lingering effects on the health sector for some time.

These factors have accelerated moves to value-based care and led some providers to inquire about partnering or acquiring insurance assets as the pandemic exposed the risk of relying on fee-for-service models. At the same time, consumers are likely to seek continued access to telehealth, made widely available as an alternative to in-person care.