MGMA Week in Review: AI Trends in Medical Practices, Virtual Care Growth, and Medicaid Cuts
Download MP3Well, hi, everyone. I'm Daniel Williams, senior editor at MGMA and host of the MGMA Pod cast Network. We are back with another MGMA week in review podcast. I am here with cohost Colleen Luckett. Before we get any further, Colleen, what kind of week have you had?
Colleen Luckett:Yeah. It has been a doozy. In fact, I know you are as well, but we're preparing for the MGMA summit virtual conference coming up. And it has been yeah. We've been just working hard over here.
Daniel Williams:You are totally right. And I have told a couple of people already today that until an email internally went out from MGMA, I knew Memorial Day was on Monday. I didn't know we were off on Monday. I was preparing the week as if I was gonna be in here Monday. And so I went, oh my gosh.
Daniel Williams:I've got so many things I was planning to do Monday that I'm now trying to do Friday. So
Colleen Luckett:Oh, surprise.
Daniel Williams:It's been that kind of week. Yeah.
Colleen Luckett:Nice surprise.
Daniel Williams:Exactly. Often or most every time, Colleen kicks us off, but this week, she was gracious enough to let me kick it off. And so let's go straight to our first story, everyone. So for this first one, I wanna focus on something that really hits for a lot of our listeners because you are an independent medical practices. The challenges y'all face aren't new, tighter margins, staffing issues, rising administrative burdens.
Daniel Williams:But what is new or at least evolving fast is the role that AI is playing in supporting your practices. Now a recent health care IT news piece looked at how eClinicalWorks is rolling out some pretty compelling AI powered tools to help these smaller practices, not just to stay afloat, but actually to thrive. We're talking about ambient listening tech like Sunno.ai. I hope I pronounced that correctly. This particular platform listens in during a patient visit and automatically builds out the clinical documentation.
Daniel Williams:It's essentially your virtual scribe, and it's designed to give providers back time they'd otherwise spend charting after hours. I was also the moderator for an AI based webinar this week. Same thing. We met with the MGMA audience and just went over all the things that AI is doing for the practice. Not to be outdone, I also had a podcast interview with Microsoft Nuance earlier this week, also talking about the role that technology is having.
Daniel Williams:The person I spoke to, and this podcast will be out in early June, this was a doctor at a primary care practice in rural Oregon. And he was saying, basically, I don't know that I could do my job today or at least do it quite as well if I didn't have these tech tools. So with all of that said, AMA has its latest physician practice benchmark survey out. It shows that the percentage of physicians working in private practices dropped from just over 60 in 2012 to under forty seven percent in '22 2022. That's a really steep decline, and a big part of that is burnout in the grind of administrative work.
Daniel Williams:The reason that's brought up is there is a bright spot. The same AMA report shows that burnout has actually decreased a bit, down from nearly sixty three percent at the height of the pandemic to just over forty three percent earlier this year. But we're still talking about almost half of all physicians are struggling with burnout or extreme stress. So why do we say all this? Because anything that can lighten the load, like AI taking over your charting, your scheduling, even your billing workflows can truly make a difference.
Daniel Williams:If you are an independent practice leader listening right now, this may be a good time to assess your tech setup. Are there areas where automation could give your team a breather? Are you spending your time and your staff's time on work that AI could now handle? Because we're no longer talking about the future. These tools are here.
Daniel Williams:They're accessible. Many of the physicians and clinicians out there are already using them. And if you're not, you're simply being left behind. Colleen, with all that said, I'm gonna turn it over to you.
Colleen Luckett:We are going to continue on that theme of managing stress and burnout in the workplace. Folks, if your staff's PTO calendar is starting to look more like a game of Tetris than a well oiled schedule, don't worry. We've got some tips to help you keep your team happy and your practice running smoothly. So let's talk poll. This week's poll was connected on May 20.
Colleen Luckett:It asked, how has your organization expanded PTO or leave benefits in the past year? And out of 403 of you, only 21% said yes, and a whopping 77% said no. Our poll results follow-up article titled, how do you handle your medical staff's paid time off and leave, takes a look at why PTO policy changes can feel more like a glacier crawl than a sprint. Turns out, most practice leaders stick with the status quo, not because they're stubborn, but because it's a balancing act between performance, competitiveness, and a parent organization's HR playbook, frankly. If you're looking for ways to stay competitive, here are a few emerging trends from your peers to consider.
Colleen Luckett:Enhanced PTO with faster accrual, especially in year one, dedicated mental health days because burnout isn't a badge of honor all the time, Parental leave policies that go beyond the basics, especially in non FMLA covered practices. That's that federal medical leave. Flexible schedules like four day work weeks, early or late shift options, and remote work for administrative roles. Job sharing setups to give part time flexibility without sacrificing coverage, and let's not forget rewarding tenure with extra days off because loyalty shouldn't just get a mug and a handshake. So, yeah, a little flexibility can go a long way, whether it's extra PTO, smarter scheduling, or just listening to what your staff truly values.
Colleen Luckett:Small shifts can help you attract and keep top talent. So as always, you can check out the show notes for a link to that article. And hey, do you have a PTO policy that's a big hit with your team? We would love to work with you on publishing an article to the MGMA website or MGMA Connection Magazine or both. So drop us a line at connection@mgma.com to collaborate with us on that.
Colleen Luckett:And if you're not already part of our weekly text polls, sign up for MGMA staff by texting stat, s t a t, to 33550 or by visiting our website, MGMA.com/MGMA-stat. Your insights shape the data we share. So please go ahead and get involved in that. Alright, Danielle. Back to you.
Daniel Williams:Yeah. For this next article, I'll start off with a little personal note here. I've got a daughter who's a rising senior in college out in California. I'm here in Colorado. She is here for a few days gathering some things, seeing some friends, and then she's heading off to Spain to do an internship in a
Colleen Luckett:Oh, nice.
Daniel Williams:I believe it's best described as like a memory care center. It's not all they do, but they do other aspects of help with patients who have either issues or challenges with either dementia, memory loss, or there is a branch there as well with people who have autism and other aspects like that. The reason I give you all this I know. As we're it's pretty exciting. She's got a huge summer here coming up.
Daniel Williams:But
Colleen Luckett:I was gonna say, I thought I was being really exotic when I went to Melbourne Beach, Florida for my internship. That's awesome.
Daniel Williams:Exactly. Me too. Same here. And so she's here for a couple of days, but we're already at Friday. She flies back to San Diego on Sunday and then off to Spain, and she needed, to have a checkup with her primary care physician.
Daniel Williams:The next in person appointment was gonna be well past. She was already gonna be in Spain. That was not gonna work. We made a call today this morning. And by 11AM, they had a virtual call.
Daniel Williams:So they had a checkup. They checked in.
Colleen Luckett:Great.
Daniel Williams:She was able to get a prescription refilled, things of that nature. That is the beauty of virtual care, and that's where we're going with this next story. According to a recent medical economics article, up to thirty percent of all US medical care could be delivered virtually by the end of twenty twenty six. Believe me. When I read that headline, I went, woah.
Daniel Williams:And I was just shocked by that. But this number comes from a report by an organization, Science Soft, and I cannot stress enough how much it caught my attention, really made me sit up straight in my chair just to see that. So it's not just telehealth as a nice to have anymore. The infrastructure is there according to this study. The patient demand is absolutely there, but the big sticking point, regulatory clarity.
Daniel Williams:Right now, lot of practices are sitting in a kind of limbo. You've got the tools, you've got Zoom, EHR integration, remote monitoring, but it's tough to fully commit when reimbursement rules keep changing, and licensing laws vary from state to state. The AMA's been flagging this too. Their policy folks point to reimbursement uncertainty, HIPAA compliance concerns, and cross state licensure as three of the biggest barriers holding back expansion. Now some specialties are pushing ahead regardless, mental health being a big one.
Daniel Williams:We're seeing sustained high usage of virtual visits and behavioral health, and not just because of convenience. Patients feel more comfortable. Providers can often see more people. And in some cases, the outcomes are just as strong as in person care. But here's where it gets actionable.
Daniel Williams:If you're running a practice right now, how are you thinking about virtual care? Are you offering it just because you had to during COVID, or is it becoming a true part of your care strategy? Because if that 30% number is even close to accurate and regulations start to solidify, the practices that are already set up to scale will have a major head start. So the question to ask might be, are we ready if the switch flips? Because that future is coming fast.
Daniel Williams:Colleen, I'm gonna turn it over to you.
Colleen Luckett:Alright. Prepare yourselves because we are not closing on an especially uplifting note, but it is super important for health care leaders to keep on top of, especially those of you managing practices and groups that serve Medicaid patients. You probably already know where I'm going with those. So this update comes from Healthcare Dive on May 22. The article was written by Rebecca Pifer, and it's titled House Passes Reconciliation Bill with Massive Medicaid Cuts.
Colleen Luckett:The article outlines the passage of that huge GOP budget bill this week in the US House of Representatives, a bill that proposes sweeping cuts to Medicaid and other federal safety needs. The legislation passed by just one vote with all Democrats voting against it. So that was 02/2015 to 02/14, and it includes approximately $700,000,000,000 in Medicaid cuts over the next decade. These cuts would be enacted largely through new work, education, or volunteering requirements for Medicaid eligibility set to begin in late twenty twenty six as well as other changes to enrollment and reporting. According to the congressional budget office, the legislation would result in 7,600,000 people losing Medicaid and another 4,000,000 losing affordable care act coverage, a rollback that would eliminate nearly half of the coverage gains made since ACA was enacted in 2010.
Colleen Luckett:For medical group managers, the stakes are really high. Fewer insured patients, of course, means reduced reimbursement, more uncompensated care, and increased administrative complexity. Practices in rural or underserved areas, which often serve a higher percentage of Medicaid patients, are particularly at risk. This could result in scaled back services or, in some cases, full closures of clinics that communities rely on. But beyond the numbers, it's worth considering who these changes would affect.
Colleen Luckett:Many of the patients served by MGMA members include single mothers working multiple part time jobs, caregivers balancing employment with elder or childcare, and low wage workers in industries without benefits. These are individuals who may already struggle with irregular schedules, lack of childcare, transportation barriers, and chronic health conditions, Requiring them to navigate new bureaucratic hurdles to verify work or volunteering hours could result in coverage loss, not because they don't meet the requirements, but because of the bureaucratic obstacles. Rick Pollink, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, summarized the impact this way. He said, the sheer magnitude of the reductions to the Medicaid program alone will impact all patients, not just Medicaid beneficiaries, in every community across the nation. The bill's cutting not only Medicaid but also food assistance, education programs, and clean energy initiatives represents one of the broadest rollbacks of public support systems in recent history.
Colleen Luckett:And while proponents argue it addresses fraud and inefficiencies, provider groups and patient advocates say the costs will be paid in coverage losses, hospital closures, and worse health outcomes. The legislation now moves to the senate where it is expected to face both support and pushback from Republican lawmakers. Some go even further with cuts while others are concerned about the effects on health care access in their districts. And as medical group leaders, of course, it's important to stay informed, is what we aim to do here at Weekend Review. But if your organization could be affected by these proposed changes, please consider reaching out to your state senators to share your perspective.
Colleen Luckett:Expressing the operational impact of reduced access to care, financial viability, and workforce stream can help inform decision making at the federal level. And as a health care patient myself, I can 100% approve of that message. And, okay, everyone. Let's just try to shake that off for the weekend, and please enjoy your barbecues for the Memorial Day holiday. And that's a wrap for me, Daniel.
Colleen Luckett:Back to you.
Daniel Williams:Alright. Thanks, Colleen. And that is a wrap for this weekend review episode. Thank you all so much for being MGMA podcast listeners. As always, we will have the direct links to all of these stories so you can take them in over your long weekend, and we are both wishing you a very happy extended weekend.
Daniel Williams:And we'll see you back here next week.
Colleen Luckett:Thanks, everyone. See you next week.
