Strategic Initiatives: Health Care

COVID-19 Highlights Challenges for and Advances by Greater Houston’s Health Care Sector, Which Remains Key to Our Economic Prosperity, New Report Finds

  • The region is not fully benefiting from Houston’s wealth of health resources due to health disparities driven by social determinants of health.

  • The pandemic highlighted Houston’s capabilities as a leader in medical care innovation and as an emerging leader in life sciences, as it exacerbated a range of issues from mental health to workforce shortages.

  • Economic modeling reveals that 1 in 6 jobs added in the region from 2021 to 2036 will be in health care, and that in a baseline case, the health care sector will drive an increase of $63.5 billion to the local economy. Full Press Release

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Business-Based Community Engagement Can Improve Maternal Health, Report Finds

  • The medical and social factors affecting maternal health also drive COVID-19 and overall health outcomes. Community health and resilience are rooted in our ability to address these social risk factors.

  • Houston’s maternal health outcomes are worse than the national average, while the US has higher maternal mortality rates than other developed nations despite spending a greater percentage of GDP on healthcare.

  • Key challenges include a lack of coordination and sustainable funding to address social needs that drive 80% of outcomes.

  • The business community can act to improve maternal health, which will both improve the region’s overall health and boost workforce productivity. Full Press Release

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Underlying Trends in Houston’s Health Care Sector Accelerated by the Pandemic Potentially Reshaping the Sector, Report Finds

  • Economic modeling suggests developing the region’s life sciences industries and health care workforce will yield major long-term benefits for Greater Houston’s economy.

  • A survey shows the impact o the pandemic on changing employers’ attitudes about health care with the region’s employers increasingly wary of rising health care costs, eager to explore new models of health coverage and more willing to support expanding Medicaid.

  • Greater Houston’s response to Covid-19 reveals the need for more collaboration across hospitals and providers as well as employers throughout the region. Full Press Release

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