Healthcare Growth Amid Structural Pressures

Healthcare leaders enter 2026 with meaningful growth opportunity, even as structural

pressures continue to reshape the market. Elevated utilization through 2025 helped sustain revenue,

but organizations simultaneously absorbed reduced government funding, higher capital costs,

wage inflation, workforce shortages, regulatory scrutiny, and rising consumer expectations.

EY notes that providers, payers, employers, and academic medical centers are responding

through profitable expansion into ambulatory care, post-acute services, behavioral health,

and ASCs—while managing CMS reimbursement pressure. Employers are also facing sharp premium

increases and are turning toward alternative financing models and ICHRAs to regain cost control.