As healthcare consolidation accelerates and regulations tighten, many physician groups are asking: Can we afford to stay independent? With hospitals, health systems, and private equity firms rapidly expanding their reach—and payers increasing value-based care (VBC) requirements, staying independent can feel like swimming against the tide. You can preserve independence. It isn’t just possible; it’s urgent and worth fighting for.
A recent Black Book survey of nearly 500 practices paints a sobering picture: 70% of independent physician groups do not expect to maintain autonomy beyond the next 18 months unless they make significant operational or financial changes (Black Book, 2025). That’s not just a trend. It’s a warning.
Still, there’s a deeper truth: Independence is still possible—if you know how to navigate the transition to value-based care (VBC) with clarity, control, and strategy. With the right roadmap, independent physician groups can move forward with clarity, control, and renewed purpose.
The Pressures Are Mounting—But You Can Still Preserve Independence
The pressure isn’t just financial; it’s human. Independent physicians are managing more patients, more paperwork, and more uncertainty than ever. Yet they’re still expected to keep up with shifting payment models, new tech platforms, and evolving compliance standards.
According to Black Book, practices today face a multi-front pressure campaign:
- 71% cite declining reimbursements as the top threat to independence
- Regulatory complexity and admin burden follow close behind
- Consolidation is intensifying through acquisitions and affiliations
Even the long-awaited 2026 Medicare reimbursement bump may not offer much relief. While CMS has proposed a modest increase under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), physician pay still lags significantly behind inflation-adjusted costs—with small, rural, and independent groups facing the steepest uphill climb (O’Reilly, 2025).
Value-Based Care Is No Longer Optional—But Readiness Is Uneven
Many groups are making efforts to adapt. According to the Black Book study:
- 28% have signed new VBC contracts
- 24% have outsourced admin and revenue cycle tasks
- 16% have joined ACOs, MSOs, or IPAs while retaining independent governance
Yet only 5% have invested directly in population health or analytics infrastructure—arguably the core tools for success under VBC (Black Book, 2025). That's a dangerous gap.
Many are doing their best with the resources they have, but without the operational backbone for VBC, even smart strategies can fall short or create more work without adding value.
What’s missing isn’t effort. It’s support and know-how. That support is essential if you want to preserve independence in a world of risk-bearing contracts and complex reporting.
Reframe VBC: A Strategic Lever to Preserve Independence
Value-based care is not the end of independence—it’s the path to preserving it. When approached intentionally, value-based care enables physician groups to:
- Reclaim financial stability through shared savings and performance-based incentives
- Reduce burnout by aligning care teams around purpose, not just productivity
- Improve outcomes by identifying and closing care gaps early
- Strengthen contract negotiations by proving clinical and operational value
In short: done right, VBC doesn’t erode independence—it reinforces it.
The effort has to be grounded in real-world insight. Many transformation programs are built from theory, not practice. Independent physicians don’t need another abstract model. They need trusted guidance from those who understand both care delivery and system survival.
The Business Case to Preserve Independence: ROI, VOI, and Strategic Power
Here’s what often gets overlooked: strategic transformation isn’t a cost: it’s a multiplier. It’s how practices protect what they’ve built while designing what’s next.
Practices that invest in workflow redesign, contract intelligence, and care coordination consistently see returns that far exceed the cost of implementation.
You don’t need a Fortune 500 budget to make this work. VBC doesn’t require a massive overhaul on day one. You need a phased, data-informed strategy that:
- Identifies where revenue is leaking (denials, poor documentation, unoptimized contracts)
- Quantifies what's possible through shared savings or risk adjustment
- Offers a blueprint that aligns clinical, operational, and financial efforts without overwhelming your staff
This isn’t about buying software or checking boxes. It’s about preserving independence by investing in the people and processes that make it possible.
The ROI is measurable. The VOI—value on investment—runs deeper. It’s about time, trust, and the ability to lead on your own terms.
Clarity and Strategy: The Foundation to Preserve Independence
You don’t need to figure this out alone. What you need is a trusted transformation partner who:
- Understands the real-world complexity of clinical care
- Helps you translate vision into practical steps
- Builds capacity without adding to burnout
- Aligns your infrastructure with your goals—not someone else’s
Preserving independence doesn’t mean isolation. It means having the freedom to choose your future and the support to build toward it.
Ready to Preserve Independence—and Lead on Your Terms?
If you're tired of feeling reactive, overwhelmed, or squeezed between “burnout” and “buyout,” there's a better path forward.
Let value-based care be your turning point—not your breaking point.
your independence isn’t just worth saving—it’s worth strengthening, scaling, sustaining, defending, and building around.
