Editor’s Note: This article is part a Healthcare Design’s Industry Predictions series. Throughout January, HCD will share perspectives from respected industry voices on where the sector may head in 2026 and what challenges and opportunities are on their radar.
Ben Huffman, healthcare advisory council co-chair and senior vice president – account manager, Skanska (Durham, N.C.)
Courtesy of Skanska
Healthcare Design’s 2026 Healthcare Design Industry Predictions series continues with Ben Huffman, healthcare advisory council co-chair and senior vice president – account manager, Skanska (Durham, N.C.).
Here, Huffman discusses some of the industry opportunities and challenges he sees for 2026, including growing focus on speed to market strategies, new partnerships to drive project forward, shifts in preconstruction timelines, and expected expansion in pediatric care.
Healthcare Design: What lessons did the industry learn from 2025?
Ben Huffman: Due to potential federal policy implications, healthcare organizations are having to rethink programming strategies for projects based on available funding. This is informing how we work with clients during the design and preconstruction stages to make sure we are meeting changing budget needs.
Healthcare customers are also focusing on speed to market strategies to expand their high revenue generating programs. This is to help offset financial pressures and recruit top talent in a tight labor market.
Lastly, the boom of data centers, semiconductors, and other advanced technology construction projects has made it difficult for the healthcare sector to compete for essential labor, especially in mechanical/engineering/plumbing (MEP) trades. Our teams have had success in implementing prefabrication, design-assist, and project labor agreements to address construction industry labor challenges.
HCD: How can these lessons inform projects or strategies going forward?
Huffman: Due to funding uncertainty, we are seeing more clients implementing unique partnerships or joint ventures with other healthcare organizations to drive projects forward. This means stakeholder teams are getting bigger. This can complicate the decision-making process and final sign-off because customers are learning to collaborate in this new dynamic. By bringing on design and construction partners early in the process, there is the potential to help alleviate some of those pain points.
Preconstruction is now a longer process than in previous years. Our customers are having to consider affordability thresholds and how to implement capital investments in an industry where insurance reimbursements for medical practices have historically not kept pace. The potential federal policy implications have also created funding uncertainty.
One strategy we are implementing with our customers is budgeting for multiple program options. Flexibility in early design and evaluating different concepts to meet changing budget constraints have been crucial for several successful healthcare projects.
HCD: Where do you think the healthcare design industry will head in 2026?
Huffman: The latest reporting on hospital finances and construction spending shows the sector will remain stable in 2026 but likely won’t experience spectacular gains.
In 2026, we’re seeing the following trends:
- Deferred maintenance and renovations: A backlog of medical equipment replacements (MRIs, CTs) and maintenance are needed to keep hospitals operating.
- High-revenue programs: Healthcare customers are focusing on speed to market strategies to expand their high revenue generating programs (operating rooms, radiology, etc.) and recruit top talent. Budget constraints and rising costs are impacting capital planning, with some systems exploring adaptive reuse strategies to accelerate speed-to-market, particularly for ambulatory surgical centers.
- Large-scale projects: Continued investment in bed towers and behavioral health facilities is being driven by immediate patient care needs, despite ongoing funding challenges. In California, seismic compliance is accelerating new tower construction. In Washington, extended patient stays are limiting bed turnover and fueling demand for acute care expansion to increase capacity. In Florida, Lee Health expanded its new Fort Myers medical campus with an additional patient tower to accommodate population growth, all while the current project is already under construction. We’re also seeing a rise in rehabilitation facilities to help offset bed turnover constraints by increasing step-down capacity.
- Pediatric care expansion: The children’s hospital sector is projected to grow steadily, with revenue expected to reach $49.1 billion in 2025 (IBISWorld). Healthcare systems are prioritizing behavioral health and pediatric investments to meet the rising demand and enhance specialized care offerings.
HCD: What do you see as the biggest opportunity for change in the new year?
Huffman: The Joint Commission process is changing (plans to cut accreditation standards in half) and Certificate of Need (CON) laws are reforming in many states. All of this will bring in new opportunities for new players or ownership structure in the market (ambulatory surgery center growth to new competition entering the market).
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized plans to phase out the inpatient-only list over the next three years. While this could impact hospital reimbursements, it will likely also fuel more growth in the outpatient space as more procedures can be performed outside of the inpatient setting. We’ll likely start to see outpatient facilities grow larger and require more specialty equipment and infrastructure to support these procedures.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
