Healthcare workers at SUNY Downstate University Hospital and Medical Center are standing firm against the challenges they face. This institution holds a crucial place in the community, and efforts are being made to ensure its future.

Preserving SUNY Downstate - A Community's Fight for Healthcare

Financial Struggles and Building Woes

Earlier this year, the state proposed shutting down SUNY Downstate due to financial difficulties and a deteriorating building. This decision sent shockwaves through the community. However, for now, the shutdown plans have been put on hold. The hospital, located in East Flatbush, serves a diverse population with significant disparities and inequities among Black and brown communities. It is essential that healthcare services remain accessible to those who need them the most.

Despite the temporary reprieve, the situation remains precarious. The state has committed to investing $500 million to expand outpatient services in a new $300 million facility. But advocates argue that this investment should be directed towards the existing hospital instead. They believe that the existing infrastructure can be revitalized and made more efficient to meet the needs of the community.

Recommendations from the Community Coalition

Members of the community coalition, Brooklyn for Downstate, have released a report outlining their recommendations. These include reducing bed capacity from 342 to 250 beds to optimize resources. Renovations to the Emergency Department and maternity wing are also crucial to improve patient care. Establishing new urgent care and outpatient centers will provide additional access points for patients. Additionally, maintaining the Kidney Transplant program, which is the only one of its kind in Kings County, is of utmost importance.

The Kidney Transplant program at SUNY Downstate serves as a lifeline for many patients. Its closure would have a significant impact not only on this community but on the entire borough. The coalition's recommendations aim to ensure the continued existence and growth of these essential services.

Inpatient Services and Future Plans

Hochul announced plans to move inpatient services across the street to Kings County Hospital – NYC Health + Hospitals, which is public and city-run. While this may seem like a solution, advocates strongly oppose it. They want SUNY Downstate to remain in its current location and continue to serve the community.

The state-appointed advisory board will release a plan in 2025 to determine the future of SUNY Downstate. This plan will play a crucial role in shaping the hospital's destiny. Healthcare workers and community members are closely watching these developments and working together to ensure a positive outcome.

Cynthia Walker, a nurse with nearly 20 years of service at SUNY Downstate, emphasizes the importance of the hospital. "We have a lot of disparities and inequities in our community. There's no way we can cut our services again. This is our hospital, and we need to fight for its future."

Matt Leonardo, an analyst who contributed to the report, adds, "SUNY Downstate has unique capabilities and services that cannot be replicated. Its closure would be a great loss to the community and the healthcare system as a whole."

In October 2024, a remarkable gathering of over 9,000 insurance industry participants convened at the annual ITC Vegas insurance conference. This event served as a fertile ground for discussions on the burgeoning use of generative AI (gen AI) and its profound implications for the insurance sector. During an episode of the McKinsey on Insurance podcast, Matt Cooke, the global director of marketing and communications for McKinsey’s Financial Services Practice, engaged in a wide-ranging conversation with McKinsey senior partner Tanguy Catlin at ITC Vegas. They delved into the industry’s future trajectory, the necessity of remaining relevant in a changing marketplace, and the potential of gen AI in creating value.

Unlock the Potential of Generative AI in Insurance

Conference Highlights and Gen AI's Emergence

The ITC Vegas conference in 2024 brought together a diverse array of insurtechs and insurance companies. Many insurtechs focused on narrowly defined use cases, presenting a challenge for insurers aiming to integrate multiple aspects for a seamless customer journey. However, platforms are gradually emerging, simplifying the integration of insurtechs from a technological standpoint. The hot topic of the year was gen AI, with insurtech companies providing it to transform various aspects of customer care such as sales, claims, and underwriting. Ecosystems are also on the rise, enabling multiple participants to collaborate on complex problems.Unfortunately, many insurers began with an incomplete definition of gen AI, restricting their ability to leverage its full potential. Gen AI differs from traditional AI and is uniquely positioned to solve specific types of problems. While traditional AI is suitable for mathematical solutions, gen AI excels at making sense of context and opening up new use cases.

Gen AI in Different Insurance Lines

When considering personal, corporate, and life insurance lines, gen AI holds significant opportunities. It changes the way insurers engage with data, moving from requesting reports to having meaningful dialogues. For example, in claims and underwriting, gen AI can accelerate onboarding new people, improving policy underwriting, and ensuring compliance. There are four primary applications of gen AI across industries. In technology, it can create or translate code. In creativity, it generates hyperpersonalized content. In knowledge management and synthesis, it quickly accesses and presents relevant information. And in customer care, it has the potential to transform interactions by emulating empathy.Many insurance carriers obtain gen AI through platforms used for traditional functions. However, they need to develop applications in underwriting and claims themselves to differentiate.

Maturity of Gen AI Usage in the Industry

The pace of developing and improving gen AI is unprecedented. The emergence of AI agents is transformative, but driving change in human behavior is slower. Adoption and behavioral change require three to four times more time and resources than the technical side.

Impact of Climate Change on Insurance

In the US, the percentage of loss from catastrophic events covered by insurance has been declining. Climate change is one of the emerging risks for which the industry needs to find solutions. Insurers must work with regulators to optimize concentration risk, product coverage, and other elements. Educating drivers about the increased risks due to their actions is a significant challenge.

Autonomous Driving and Insurance

The automotive sector's approach to autonomous driving raises questions about insurance. Car manufacturers have the potential to offer insurance embedded in the car at the point of sale, leveraging their data and control over the repair value chain. However, they are not yet ready to invest a lot of capital in insurance. Insurance companies need access to vehicle and behavioral data to underwrite and price risk better. Accident frequency has not decreased as expected due to human distraction, and more collaborations are needed across the ecosystem.

Life Insurance in an Aging Population

Populations are aging in many countries, and life insurers need to adapt. Life insurance was originally designed for death protection in a different societal context. Now, with fewer marriages and later childbirth, the need for death coverage has decreased, while healthcare costs have risen. Insurers must find ways to be relevant in retirement, health, and wealth management.

Insurers' Search for Efficiency

Insurers are currently looking for ways to increase efficiency from their deployed capital. The trend of creating value across liabilities and asset management is set to continue and accelerate, differentiating winners from losers in the future.