A silver lining? Leaders say the pandemic response forced innovation

The report said it found consensus among health care leaders: the pandemic forced health care delivery innovations, while at the same time revealing issues with payment and health inequities.

"COVID-19 has mandated dramatic changes in care delivery and cross-industry partnerships," the report said. "It has exposed the human and financial costs of the nation's health inequity. And it has accelerated change — forcing us to shift to virtual health, flexible staffing models and in-home care."

The Optum report found that 89.1% of respondents agreed that the health care industry made progress in care delivery innovation in 2020, including improvements in virtual health, in-home care, and avoiding unnecessary care.

"Much of the technology associated with care delivery innovation has been here for some time," the report noted. "But COVID-19 forced adoption and showed how well it could be embraced by both patients and physicians."

In addition, the report found good progress in patient and consumer engagement, with 73.2% of executives agreeing the industry had made strides in this area. The leaders pointed to quick adoption of telehealth, investment in patient portals, and improvements in mobile connectivity. More work remains, the Optum report said, including in the areas of personalized care plans, improved outcomes, and cost containment.

Needed: More progress toward a sustainable and equitable health care system

The survey also found that respondents specified the area of sustainable and equitable health as one where not enough progress was made in 2020. In a question on how effective different health care players were in addressing sustainable and equitable health care, the answer "extremely effective" was in the low singe-digits for each group. Generally, physicians, life sciences, and hospital/health systems scored better in the extremely/very effective categories, but none had a combined score in those ratings that equaled more than 36%. An interesting finding was that employers had the highest score in the "moderately effective" category, at 52.2%.

Regardless, the report said this area is one where C-suite respondents feel more work is needed, but there was a notable lack of accountability. "All respondents believe we need to make more progress toward a sustainable and equitable health system," the study said. "Yet each segment believes they are doing more to advance sustainability and equity than other segments are doing."

The report also noted that vulnerable populations exist within the health care industry itself: "Many of our essential workers are also low-income workers who face greater COVID-19 exposure," the report said. "Those who come from lower socioeconomic groups have a very different life expectancy from people who have more resources. Housing, nutrition, transportation, and health literacy have significant impact on health and health outcomes."

Turning a page

The survey, which was conducted in December, also explored attitudes toward the new administration in Washington, D.C. In general, respondents thought the Biden administration would increase the focus on health inequities, industry consolidation, and value-based care. It noted that there is bipartisan agreement that the rising cost of health care in the U.S. is unsustainable.

Among C-suite respondents, the survey found that health equity was more likely to make progress under the new administration (63.3% rating it extremely or somewhat likely), followed by value-based care (62.8%), industry consolidation (59%), and alignment of payers and providers (42.9%).

"This year, with the House and Senate so closely divided, we don't expect major legislation to impact the industry," the report said. "But we can look to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMMI) to be reinvigorated. This could include bringing forward more payment model innovation and further support for virtual and in-home care delivery."