Healthcare's Most Attractive Population is Migrating; A Ranked List of the Top Losing and Gaining Zip Codes
The 45-64 age cohort is critical for hospital profitability due to the prevalence of commercially insured individuals and an increasing need for care.
What Health Systems Should Know
Historically, the most lucrative demographic for health systems has been patients ages 45-64 because these consumers are commercially insured and generally need more medical care than younger age cohorts. However, like many other Americans over the last two years, people ages 45-64 are migrating to other areas of the country.
This means that some health systems are about to lose a sizable chunk of their revenue as commercially-insured adults move elsewhere - revenue that they previously relied on to subsidize the losses from caring for Medicaid, Medicare, and charity care.
A recent blog series from Trilliant Health CEO, Hal Andrews, outlined the need for a competitive approach to understanding market share:
"To survive, and hopefully thrive, every health system must have a competitive mindset. Historically, the notion of “competing” in the “hospital business” was considered crude or impolite by many, with one consistent exception: Catholic nuns.
Every health system executive has heard these four words: “No margin, no mission.” Those words were the motto of Sister Irene Kraus, who in 1986 became the founding president and CEO of the Daughters of Charity National Health System. Sister Irene’s “hard-nosed business ability” during her tenure was foundational to Ascension’s market position in Austin, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Nashville today...now, more than ever, “no margin, no mission” should be the rallying cry for every health system. The competition is no longer the hospital across town. Instead, it is every healthcare provider in a market, plus four Fortune 10 companies: Walmart, Amazon, CVS Health, and United Health Group."
See below for the ranked lists of the top 25 zip codes losing this critical population as well as the top 25 gaining.
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