A new report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found health care and life sciences executives remain optimistic about health equity progress in coming years, but challenges stemming from organizational processes and the new presidential administration may pose hurdles.
For its annual industry outlook surveys, Deloitte surveyed 140 C-suite executives in the U.S. from health plans, health systems, biopharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers from August to September 2024 about the challenges and opportunities they foresee in the coming year. A second survey that took place from September to October 2024 included 50 health equity leaders in the U.S. in health care, life sciences, and regulatory sectors, and community-based organizations.
Most executives expressed expectations for health equity to remain a priority, with 75 percent of life sciences executives and 64 percent of health care executives saying they anticipate an increased focus on health equity in 2025.
Further, 90 percent of survey participants said they expect last year’s health equity investment levels to increase (40 percent) or remain the same (49 percent) in 2025.
While the responses are encouraging for health equity advancements, the executives also expressed challenges within their organizations when it comes to delivering on these health equity objectives. A total of 48 percent of health care executives and 43 percent of life sciences executives said integrating health equity into strategic, financial, and operational processes is difficult.
A contributing factor to this challenge, Deloitte noted, may be the limited involvement of health equity leaders. The survey found that:
Only 34 percent of health equity leaders were highly involved in organization-wide strategy and only 24 percent said they are highly involved in decisions related to services or product design. There were also small portions of executives who reported being highly involved in technology and IT decisions (14 percent), decisions related to artificial intelligence (12 percent), or significant involvement in business growth decisions (36 percent).
Challenges may also arise under the new administration. “The new presidential administration and Congress could introduce new complexities for health equity initiatives through legislation and regulations. However, life sciences and health care organizations that are dedicated to improving health outcomes for all, especially historically vulnerable populations and communities, might be well-positioned to achieve their revenue and growth objectives this year and in the years to come,” wrote the report authors.
Deloitte underscored the importance of tracking progress and outcomes of health equity initiatives, something executives reported was difficult within the survey. More than 40 percent said they have trouble tracking the progress of initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities. There were also 32 percent of executives who said they either do not measure or are unaware of the impact that health equity initiatives have on their organization’s financials.
Deloitte included four recommended focus areas for health equity leaders to prioritize in their strategy development:
- Organization measurement and evaluation
- Offerings, such as data and outcomes
- Community initiatives
- Ecosystem through the lens of collaboration and sustainability
“Addressing health inequities is a moral and economic imperative and can be addressed using business solutions to advance growth and meet mission and purpose goals for life sciences and health care organizations,” wrote the report authors. “By prioritizing equitable access for everyone to high-quality, affordable health services, therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices, organizations might be able to enhance their financial performance while helping to make care more accessible and equitable.”