McKinsey January 10, 2025
Industry economics are shifting toward non-acute care delivery, healthcare software, data, analytics, and specialty pharmacy segments.
Since 2019, the United States healthcare industry has experienced substantial financial pressure, with industry EBITDA as a proportion of the National Health Expenditure declining by an estimated 150 basis points (Exhibit 1). The decline has hit payers and providers particularly hard—payers’ estimated margins in 2024 could be at their lowest in a decade. Inflationary pressures have not yet been fully absorbed within the healthcare system, and providers continue to face labor shortages. Adding to these challenges is constrained reimbursement growth, where providers are dealing with a shifting payer mix, as the share of Medicaid and Medicare enrollment grew from 43 percent in 2019 to...