1. PE firm General Catalyst is buying a hospital — here's our take

Corporate entities like health plans, retail companies, and PE firms have aggregated large, diverse portfolios of care delivery assets over the past decade — with one notable exception: no one was buying hospitals.

But in January, venture capital firm General Catalyst bucked that trend and announced its intent to acquire Summa Health, a three-hospital health system in northeastern Ohio. What were they thinking? And what could this mean for the industry?

In this episode, host Rachel Woods and co-host Abby Burns invited Advisory Board's health system expert Vidal Seegobin to unpack the details of the story, interpret General Catalyst's ambition, and share what they'll be watching in the coming months.

2. Big deal, little deal, or no deal? A 2024 health policy retrospective

Before we move on from 2024, we have to acknowledge that there's been a lot moving in the policy space this year, and frankly, there have probably been a few important policy areas on your radar that we haven't discussed.

That's why this week, host Abby Burns invites Advisory Board experts Gina Lohr, Sarah Roller, and Paul Trigonoplos to dive into three major policy areas of the last year: Medicare drug negotiations, changes to physician employment and payment, and an emerging mandatory bundled payment model called TEAM.

Our experts unpack how these policies are affecting the industry, how the elections outcomes may impact them, and, critically, how much attention leaders should be paying them going forward. In other words, should leaders consider each policy a big deal, a little deal, or no deal?

3. Value series: Why CenterWell (and Humana) is going all in on senior care

CenterWell, Humana's provider arm, is pursuing value-based care by going all in on senior focused care. How are they doing it?

In part two of our value series, host Rachel Woods invites CenterWell President, Dr. Sanjay Shetty, to discuss the philosophy behind and strategies for pursuing value-based care through senior care management. Throughout the conversation, they discuss why this strategy is right for CenterWell, what it takes to succeed, and how they are navigating today's market challenges.

4. Why Walmart and other retailers are exiting primary care delivery and why it matters

In recent years, we've seen large retailers like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and even Amazon add to their care delivery portfolios, specifically through offering low-acuity primary care services. But it seems like the tide may be shifting. In April, Walmart announced that it's shuttering its primary care operations and virtual care arm — and it's not the only one scaling back. The fact is, a number of retailers are retrenching on primary care operations.

In this episode, host Abby Burns invites Advisory Board experts Vidal Seegobin, Natalie Trebes, and Eliza Dailey to unpack exactly why Walmart and other retailers are pulling back on primary care delivery, and why the conventional explanation — "healthcare is too complex" — falls short.

5. The future of surgery (no, it's not just robots)

Headlines about the future of surgery often focus on robots in the operating room– but innovation in surgical care and operations goes beyond robotics. The solutions to surgery leaders' problems — like inefficiency and dwindling margins — may actually be less futuristic than you'd think.

In this episode, host Rachel Woods invites Advisory Board experts Isis Monteiro, Miles Cottier, and Paul Trigonoplos to discuss what's next for the future of surgery, and what it will actually take for health systems to make surgical care profitable again. They discuss innovations in the OR, opportunities to improve efficiency, and why it might be time to think differently about the future of surgery.

6. The changing tide of Medicare Advantage

For years, the best word to describe Medicare Advantage (MA) was "untouchable." Hugely popular among seniors and profitable for health plans, the hybrid public-private payment model grew to the point where it now covers more seniors than traditional Medicare. But in the past few years, the tide has started to change. And if you've been paying attention in recent months, you'll have seen headlines announcing that payers that are scaling back their MA offerings and providers are exiting MA contracts. The MA market has gone from "untouchable" to "volatile."

The question is: why is this happening, and what does it mean for payers, providers, and seniors moving forward? In this episode, hosts Rachel Woods and Abby Burns invite health plan experts Max Hakanson and Chelsea Needham to dissect what is going on in MA and how plans and providers are — or should be — navigating the changing tide.

7. Why 2024 is a make-or-break year for corporate medical groups

In the last five years, the healthcare industry has seen an explosion of corporate ownership over medical groups. It's been relatively smooth sailing for many of these groups so far — but in 2024, they may face the same challenges as incumbents.

In this episode, host Rachel Woods invites Advisory Board physician experts Sarah Roller and Eliza Dailey to discuss why 2024 will be a make-or-break year for corporate medical groups, and what that means for the rest of the industry.

8. Is health system growth still possible?

Between high labor costs, inflation, workforce shortages, and a host of other challenges, the past couple of years have been some of the most straining financial times for health systems in recent memory. Though the tides may be starting to turn, it is critical that health systems do not get complacent. How can health systems prepare to grow in the midst of an optimistic yet volatile landscape? Paradoxically, the growth path for health systems is actually to shrink.

That's why, in this episode, host Rachel Woods invites Advisory Board health systems expert Vidal Seegobin, and quantitative insights expert Larry Watts to discuss why heath systems might have to first shrink to grow and prepare themselves for the future. Throughout the conversation, they discuss why leaders need to look past the optimism of short-term relief, and why hospital-based health systems need to start working smarter and not harder.

9. Why can't providers and plans just get along?

The relationship between health plans and providers has always included an element of friction, but lately, it seems like the temperature is rising. And you've probably noticed — public contracting disputes increased by 69% between 2022 and 2023.

That's why, in this episode, host Abby Burns invites Advisory Board experts Max Hakanson and Eileen Fennell to discuss why the state of affairs seems to be getting worse, how key flashpoints are fanning the flames, and what each stakeholder says they need to see from their partners to mend the relationship. Plus, Advisory Board digital health expert Ty Aderhold makes a cameo appearance to help answer the question: Is AI the solution here?

10. How will health system growth look different in 2025 and beyond?

When we talk about "health systems," it can sound like we're talking about a monolith. But in reality, the $1.4 trillion dollar health system sector is made up of a diverse range of players. Academics and safety nets; urban and rural systems; 1,000-bed systems and 25-bed critical access hospitals. The question is, especially as systems emerge from the financial hardships of the past few years, how do those differences translate to the ways systems are running at growth?

In this episode, the third and final installment in our series leading up to Advisory Board's Strategy Summit, host Abby Burns invites Advisory Board health system experts Elizabeth Orr and Marisa Nives to unpack how leaders across the health system sector are thinking differently about growing in 2025 and beyond.