As health systems' revenue reaches Fortune 500 levels, retail giants have entered the sphere in hopes of getting a piece of the $4 trillion pie, according to a June report by analytics firm Trilliant Health.
Trilliant's analysis is based on data from more than 70 billion payer claims representing 309 million unique patients.
Ten report findings:
- Forty nonprofit health systems would qualify for the Fortune 500, including Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente (with a projected rank of No. 34), Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health (No. 104), Renton, Wash.-based Providence (No. 113) and St. Louis-based Ascension (No. 116), based on reported revenue statements.
- The revenue of large commercial brands was comparable to leading health systems. For example, Kraft and Providence both generated $26 billion in revenue in 2020. Livonia. Mich.-based Trinity Health and McDonald's both generated around $19 billion, and Marriott and Phoenix-based Banner Health generated around $10 billion.
- Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, the largest health system in the U.S., maintains patients in 1 percent of the U.S. population. Yet nearly half of Americans (44 percent) have active Amazon Prime accounts, creating a large entryway for Amazon to monetize its existing client base.
- Flat-rate fees give Walmart Health a competitive edge against traditional healthcare providers. An office visit to an urgent care provider costs around $137, but just $40 at Walmart. The flu and strep tests cost $102 at an urgent care clinic, but just $20 at Walmart. Overall, Walmart Health's prices are up to 70 percent lower than traditional competitors, according to a June 28 news release on the report.
- OptumHealth employs 5 percent of physicians in the U.S., with 56,000 physicians nationwide and a goal to hire another 10,000 physicians.
- Sixty-five percent of patients are loyal to one healthcare network, but the average patient splits their consumerism across 4.2 provider brands.
- Telehealth services grew in California by 1,860 percent amid the pandemic, followed by Massachusetts at 1,694 percent and Oregon at 1,549 percent. Telehealth services grew the least in North Dakota at 218 percent, followed by Wyoming at 279 percent and Mississippi at 293 percent.
- Telehealth utilization is declining since peak-pandemic in 48 states. The largest declines are in South Dakota at 37 percent, Louisiana at 30 percent and Mississippi at 27 percent.
- Nearly half of patients (45 percent) went to the emergency department for an avoidable condition because physicians' offices were closed. Thirty-eight percent of patients listed being unsure of the severity of the illness as the top reason, and 20 percent said their condition couldn't wait until the next appointment was available.
- Lyft's transportation services gave 22 million Americans, primarily Medicaid patients, rides to and from appointments. The service decreased no-shows by 27 percent.