CEOs​ speak​ out​ amid​ industry​ upheaval

In a time of unprecedented volatility and uncertainty, leaders throughout the healthcare industry are taking a stand, evidenced in the recent action by Kenneth Frazier, CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co.

Frazier resigned from a White House manufacturing council on Aug. 14 after President Donald Trump did not explicitly condemn white supremacists when speaking about a deadly clash between several hate groups and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va.

As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, Frazier felt a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism, he said in a statement.

"Our country's strength stems from its diversity and the contributions made by men and women of different faiths, races, sexual orientations and political beliefs," he said. "America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal."

CEOs are increasingly using their leadership positions to speak out when it comes to social issues and policy matters.

Looming threats to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and slash Medicaid funding coupled with an ever-consolidating industry and ongoing tweaks to new payment models have catalyzed leaders to sound off. Given how much hospitals and health systems have grown in recent years and their role as job epicenters and community assets, CEOs have a responsibility to relay how these changes will affect their organizations, executives and experts said.

Communication is key, said Dr. Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic.

"I think the CEO is in a unique position in that they have the responsibility to communicate inside the organization what is going on in the outside world as well as a responsibility to communicate to the outside world what is going on inside the organization," he said.

Top executives of hospitals and health systems need to articulate to staff, patients and the community at large the value of their facilities and how they contribute to the community, said Dr. Halee Fischer-Wright, president and CEO of the Medical Group Management Association.

"In this day and age, CEOs have to be agile to navigate shifts in payer environments, uncertainty out of Washington and other ambiguities," she said. "There is definitely more of a public relations role these days for hospital CEOs."

That's true for Bernard Tyson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, who has been vocal about wanting to work with the new administration and policymakers on both sides of the aisle to solve problems in the industry around healthcare affordability, access and quality—"not play politics."

Tyson is not alone in speaking out on issues that are important to healthcare. "People look to CEOs to help lead and shape public policy," said Dr. A. Marc Harrison, CEO of Intermountain Healthcare. "If they don't speak out, others will—and these others may not represent the stakeholders in healthcare as effectively."

Change in healthcare and society as a whole isn't likely to slow down. Collectively, healthcare leaders need to be more outspoken going forward, Cosgrove said.

"There's no question where we are going. The question is how fast are we going to get there," he said.