Such practices, however, have little help financially, with even congressional legislation for funding hospitals, at this time not enough to help them significantly, according to the researchers.

"Clearly, resources need to be provided to save primary care practices from bankruptcy. In Massachusetts, we are advocating doing this through a global payment paid for each patient within a practice so that practices are made whole," said Phillips. "The money could come from all payers, including the federal government, state government and commercial insurers."

Another recent study by national, independent nonprofit FAIR Health found that the pandemic has almost halved revenue streams for healthcare professionals across the country, due to declines in utilization of professional services in March and April. A report by Kaufman Hall found that margins and volumes for providers did increase in May, but were still well below 2019 levels and the budget.

The findings of the Harvard study were published in Health Affairs.

Back to HCB News

U.S. Healthcare Homepage